State House in Malawi has said that the country cannot afford to maintain current fuel prices citing an increased fuel prices globally as the reason.

Speaking to the press today at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe, Presidential spokesperson Anthony Kasunda said it is a matter of time before fuel prices go up in the country.

According to Kasunda, the Russia- Ukraine war is the main reason cost of goods have gone up, therefore affecting Malawi badly.

He noted that before the war in Ukraine, $60 million dollars was used to buy fuel which could be used in Malawi for two months but now the same amount of money is used to buy fuel for three weeks.

However, Kasunda said that the prices will not be huge because President Chakwera has intervened by holding meetings with stakeholders such as National Oil Company of Malawi and Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA).

“The meetings were aimed at ensuring that the supply of fuel into the country is not disrupted and that even though we expect prices to go up, the new prices should not hit Malawians hard.

“So I assure Malawians that the increase in fuel prices will not be huge. And this could not have been possible without the intervention of President Lazarus Chakwera,” said Kasunda.