Just as on Sugar, Mumba Delivers Again on Cement: K26,000 Cement Hits Local Market, Breaking Cartel Grip
Trade and Industry Minister Vitumbiko Mumba has struck another blow against powerful cartels, this time in the cement industry, following his recent assault on sugar monopolies that had long kept Malawians at the mercy of inflated prices.
Barely days after dismantling sugar cartels and restoring much-needed supply to the local market, Mumba announced the arrival of cement from Zambia, priced at an unprecedented K26,000 per 50kg bag—a move that experts say will send shockwaves through entrenched profiteering networks.
Posting on his official page, Mumba made it clear that this is President Lazarus Chakwera’s servant leadership in action.
“On instructions and directives from His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, last week I assured Malawians that cement from Zambia was on its way. Today, MIJ FM confirms, it has arrived, and at a better deal for our people, K26,000 per 50kgs bag. Promises made, promises delivered. The President is building Malawi, brick by brick,” Mumba said.
In a subtle yet pointed jab at the previous system, Mumba reminded the public of his warning during a Public Lecture on the Code of Ethics in the Construction Industry: “It is not the cement that is weak but the systems.”
This development has already rattled industry players who had grown comfortable under monopolistic pricing. Analysts say that cheaper cement will lower construction costs, disrupt cartel profits, and empower ordinary Malawians to build homes without being exploited by greedy intermediaries.
Coming hot on the heels of the sugar victory, this cement breakthrough cements Mumba’s reputation as the administration’s bulldozer against corruption and corporate greed—a minister willing to confront powerful vested interests head-on for the benefit of ordinary Malawians.
The question now: how long can the cartels survive when President Chakwera’s team, led by Mumba, is actively dismantling the systems that enabled them?
I like this guy,He is an engineer, yet he also understands how to navigate the economic environment of Malawi’s mixed economy—where government intervention, such as imposing price ceilings, helps regulate the market when operators exploit prices.
Pangolin tiye tiye.