Cars get dollars, medicines don’t? MPs question forex for pharmaceutical firms

A Malawian syringe manufacturer says it can produce 90 million syringes a year, roughly ten times what the government uses, and has asked MPs to help local manufacturers compete.

Furkan Gan, managing director of Victoria Pharmaceuticals Industry Limited, told Parliament’s Health Committee that the Blantyre plant was set up to supply the government, and that its syringes are labelled as government property.

He said the government consumes about 9 to 10 million syringes a year, depending on disease outbreaks, so the annual demand is not fixed. The capacity figures are the company’s own and have not been independently checked.

Mr Gan said the plant gives Malawi a chance to strengthen local production of medical supplies and possibly to sell to other markets in the region.

He said it is the only company producing syringes in Southern Africa, which is also his claim.

Mr Gan called on the government to give local manufacturers preferential consideration in public procurement, arguing that domestic firms need predictable markets to keep investing, create jobs and contribute to tax revenue.

He urged the government to agree prices and supply terms with local producers that let them compete while keeping up quality standards.

Awarding contracts mainly on the lowest price could disadvantage established manufacturers, he warned, and carries a risk if suppliers lack the capacity to meet quality requirements.

He said foreign exchange shortages are the main obstacle, because production depends on imported raw materials.

He asked the government to protect its “Buy Malawian” initiative. “In that way, you will see many people willing to invest in this country,” he said.

Committee chairperson Anthony Masamba said forex shortages had come up repeatedly in the committee’s talks with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The committee has found that local firms can make medicines and medical devices, he said, but struggle to get foreign currency to import raw materials.

Mr Masamba questioned why importers of cars appear to get foreign exchange while pharmaceutical companies cannot get the dollars they need to make essential medicines.

The committee, he said, will ask the Reserve Bank of Malawi how forex is allocated, and whether sectors critical to public health are given priority.