Kanengo Tobacco Processors Limited (KTPL), one of the tobacco processing companies in Malawi, has closed its factory leaving 179 people jobless.
According to a letter dated 24th March 2021, the closure is due to financial problems that have hit the company.
“KTPL just like other Tobacco companies in Malawi has been undergoing difficult financial times due to a number of factors within and outside Malawi, including but not limited to reduction in national crop size, reduced in international demand for Malawi air cured burley, high competition of Tobacco processing in Malawi due to high installed capacity and certain international sanctions on Malawi Tobacco,” reads part of the letter.
The company has since pledged to compensate the affected workers in tandem with the country’s employment laws.
KTPL started its operations in September 2009 with the opening of the state of the art processing facility, which processed 32 million kilograms of Tobacco.
The closure comes amid the Tonse Alliance Government’s promise to create one million jobs.
