Taifa market vendors protest against Malawi Revenue Authority
Business at Taifa Market in Mzuzu came to a standstill on Friday after hundreds of vendors marched in Mzuzu streets in protest over a Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) official who was reported to have confiscated four bales of assorted goods from a customer who purchased them from the market.
In an interview the chairperson for Cross-Border Traders in Northern Region, Crevenor Dzodzi said this is not the first time for MRA to confiscate goods from the customers ‘illegally’.
“This has been a long time problem and nothing has changed. That is why today, we opted to march in protest to what MRA officials have been doing,” said Dzodzi.
Dzodzi wondered why MRA officials confiscate goods from customers only in the depots as if they do not pay custom at the border.
He said it is surprising to see that when the same customers buy their goods from Indians and Chinese owned shops, the MRA officials do not confiscate their goods.
Dzodzi expressed the concern that if this trend continued by the revenue collecting institution, it would affect a lot of people within and outside Malawi who come to buy goods from Taifa market.
He disclosed that a few months ago, MRA officials confiscated all the goods from the shop of a certain lady and had to pay extra money yet she already had valid receipts which showed she already paid for the goods at the border.
“We plead with MRA officials to stop this malpractice because we depend on these businesses to support our families,” said Dzodzi.
A large group of Taifa Market vendors had converged outside Mzuzu Police station reportedly to get permission to match to MRA offices.-Malawi News Agency
