Chakwera blasts cartels that are behind increase in commodity prices

President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has blasted what he described as cartels behind increase in prices of essential goods and services in the recent past.

In the recent past, prices of essential goods such as cooking oil, petroleum products, toiletries and fertilizer have gone up sharply, a development that has reduced the buying power of Malawians.

But speaking in Salima on Tuesday, Chakwera lashed out at the cartels that are behind the sudden and unprecedented rise in the cost of living.

The President said the cartels are bent on destroying his government.

“These people know pretty well that prices are going up internationally due to the Covid – 19 effects people should not take advantage of the Covid-19 to raise the prices like that. They think by raising the prices and making the Malawian angry, it means they have finished my Government,” he said.

Turning to the solar PV power plant, Chakwera described this as a milestone considering it is the first Solar PV in Malawi to connect to the national grid, a development he said signals Malawians’ commitment to work together with the private sector in the energy sector.

However, the President condemned the bureaucracy in government systems that are dragging implementation of private sector led electricity power projects.

“Bureaucratic bottlenecks that slow us down are caused by people and must be resolved by people. That is why I am directing that before the New Year, the Principal Secretary for Energy and the Director of Energy should bring a report to my office of every Independent Power Producer that has written the Ministry of Energy in the past two years to express interest in investing in this sector and what has been done to move those investments forward. Chakwera said

He added saying, “As a country, we simply cannot afford to be negligent and passive after any company reaches out to us for investment opportunities in the power market, not if we are going to reach our target of adding 1000 Mega Watts to the grid in the next four years.”

Chakwera has hinted that his government is developing the first ever Renewable Energy Act, which will help the country to better regulate the sector and reduce systemic inefficiencies.

Speaking earlier, Member of Parliament for Salima Central Gerald Phiri asked the President to declare Salima a Lakeshore City resort.

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