Editorial Comment: CFTC, Illovo, Ministry of Trade have conspired to fool Malawians onncurrent sugar crisis
The problem we have is clear: sugar has become scarce on the market and the little that is there is exorbitantly expensive.
Who is to blame?
Illovo is a key player in the country’s sugar and industry and as a manufacture, it clearly has an idea of why we are in this mess. It’s Executive Director, Lekani Katandula, plays ignorant of the prices, saying his company has not adjusted prices for the commodity, indicating only the Ministry of Trade is mandated to act on some traders who are inflating prices for the commodity.
Well, let’s give him a benefit doubt.
Minister of Trade Sosten Gwengwe, who is supposed to be telling us why prices are up and the commodity scarce, runs away from his responsibility and pushed the matter to the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC).
Without shame or spite, CFTC, through its a spokesperson, Innocent Halema, doesn’t help matters all, when he, without shame, goes public to tell struggling Malawians that they are yet to carry out its independent investigations on the same.
So here we are: Illovo doesnt want to tell us what is happening, chooses to push the matter to Gwengwe. Gwengwe, just like Illovo, doesn’t want to tell Malawians what is happening pushing the matter to CFTC. CFTC, just like Illovo and Gwengwe, doesn’t want to tell us what is happening but hides in the rhetorical: we are yet to conduct investigations.
Clearly, Illovo, Gwengwe and CFTC have conspired to fool Malawians on the sugar crisis raging.
In functional democracies, this could have a serious issue. But in Malawi where producers, regulators and inspectors conspire to fool the consumers, it’s not an issue and it will not.
In the end, Malawians will just be burden beariers of cartels whom we chose to rule us.
Cry, Malawi, cry.
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