The letters pages of newspapers have been flooded with letters from frustrated and disgruntled members of the public fed up with the country's rapidly deteriorating road network.
People have no reason to denigrate the new transport phenomenon.
However, it is serious. According to unofficial estimates almost the entire 15,000 kilometre national road surface is in an appalling condition with only five percent reasonably passable in the urban areas and 23 percent in the rural areas. Malawi's major haulage companies, especially those handling petroleum products'imports, and freight handlers are dismayed by the decay of the roads which bites negatively in maintenance costs. They have been demandiong a revision in haulage rates. Officials in the Transport Association of Malawi say they will have their way, or they may not be able to keep their fleet on the road.