CDEDI wants Trade Minister Mumba to go beyond on Sugar crisis, Illovo monopoly

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s civil rights group Center for Development and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) wants Trade Minister Vitumbiko Mumba to go beyond Sugar crisis including Illovo Sugar Limited monopoly.

CDEDI observes that Trade Minister engagement with Illovo Sugar management should go beyond the items available but also monopoly on prices.

CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa told the news conference on Friday, March 7, 2025 in the capital Lilongwe called upon Trade Minister Mumba, to convene a Sugar Indaba for get concerns and solutions to address

CDEDI Executive Director, Sylvester Namiwa, states that sugar scarcity has become a perennial problem in Malawi, despite the dominant player in the industry registering colossal profits year after year.

Namiwa lauded the minister for the efforts displayed while pressing him the need to bring order to the sugar industry.

CDEDI therefore appeals for tabling of Sugar Bill in Parliament in a bid to address challenges in the industry.

Below is CDEDI full statement…

In exercise of our governance watchdog role, and as a voice of the voiceless, we the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), write you Sir, with reference to the above stated subject matter.

To begin with, we at CDEDI on behalf of millions of low-income Malawians that are literally struggling to afford sugar on the parallel market, where the commodity is fetching between K4,000 and K5,000 a kilogram of sugar, would like to congratulate you Sir on your appointment to the new portfolio and hitting the ground running.

Much as we appreciate your bold approach to the sugar crisis, we feel duty bound to bring to your attention that storming shops is a move in the right
direction but what you are seeing and observing on your sojourn is just a tip of an iceberg.

Hon. Minister, you may wish to know that sugar here in Malawi and elsewhere is a cartel, which unless Malawians join hands, the country will continue to suffer, after giving up their own land to sugarcane plantations and sweating for the same but sadly cannot access the locally manufactured product which is supposed to be Vitamin A fortified.

While pledging our support to unbundle the cartel, CDEDI intends to bring to your attention the following issues;

Sugar scarcity has now become a perennial problem in Malawi despite the dominant player registering colossal profits year in year out.

1. The prospective legislation to bring sanity in the sugar industry, the sugar bill has been gathering dust at some office for the past 11 years with no plausible justification. This makes Illovo sugar a defacto Ministry of Sugar in Malawi.
2. Neither the cane farmers nor government reap the fruits of this industry that has been around for the past 60 years or so.
   • Parliament is sitting on the results of the July 2023 first ever ‘Sugar Price Must Fall’ public inquiry, done under the leadership of the former Trade and Industry Minister, Hon. Simplex Chithyola Banda and the then Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Trade and
     Tourism, Hon. Paul Nkhoma, in response to CDEDI’s petition on the same.
3. Illovo obtained an injunction restraining both the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFCTC) to effect a 25 percent price slash and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from commencing
   criminal proceedings against the same company.
4. Unlike the case with bakeries, Illovo Sugar is yet to open its doors to consumers, let alone drive in collection points for wholesalers. To put
   it bluntly, no single person buys sugar directly from Illovo, which is very strange.
   In view of the above, CDEDI intends to benefit from your unique approach in dealing with matters affecting the lives of Malawians promptly, and in line with the Access To Information (ATI), to call for an emergency sugar indaba, that should help Malawians have answers to the following questions;
5. What sort of agreement did Illovo Sugar sign with the current Sugar Distributors? Was it a concession? For how long?
6. What’s the total tonnage produced in the just ended production year?
7. How much of the above was exported and to where?
8. Make public the total quota allocated to the following local distributors; a. Price Worth; b. Right Price; c.Chipiku; d. Kalaria; e.Simama General Dealers.
   It is our considered view, that this letter will receive the much needed attention, owing to the gravity of the situation on the ground.

Last but not the least, needless to emphasize that after fuel, sugar has a multiplier effect to the economy, therefore, the current sugar crisis ought not to be entertained by any sensible and serious leadership.

Yours Sincerely,
Sylvester Namiwa
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.