The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has accused the Lazarus Chakwera administration of creating the current sugar crisis which has seen a rise in price of the commodity in the country.
Executive Director for CDEDI Sylvester Namiwa made the statement on Monday in Lilongwe during a press briefing.
Speaking with reporters, Namiwa said that the issue of sugar pricing has been a problem for a long time and it seems that government has no ears since it’s no longer listening because it is benefiting from the problems.
“Apparently, the scarcity of sugar in the country has been aggravated by Ministry of Trade and Industry’s failure to issue import licences on time to interested businesspersons, since sugar is a protected commodity, according to the Control of Goods Act (COGA) of 2018,” he said.
He further explained that according to their investigations, the sugar crisis is here to torment Malawians until April this year when the Illovo Sugar is expected to start production again.
“Meanwhile, although Illovo Sugar Company has reduced distribution of both table ( domestic) and bottler (industrial) sugar to about a third of its capacity, the situation is dire , resulting in the rationing of the commodity and the surging prices , which have gone as high as kilogramme packet fetching K2, 750 in Blantyre and a lot more elsewhere,” said Namiwa.
He then demanded Minister of Trade and Industry Sosten Gwengwe to tell the nation on whether Illovo Sugar Company notified government about the impending sugar crisis and its justification.
He also urged Gwengwe and IIIovo Sugar Company to come out in the open and explain to Malawians what is causing the current scarcity of sugar.
