Barely weeks after facing scrutiny over fertiliser procurement allegations, Agriculture Minister Roza Mbilizi has again found herself at the centre of a growing controversy, this time over delays in the rollout of the Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme (Fisp) as the approach of the planting season raises concerns among agricultural experts and farmers alike. At the […]
Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman has launched a scathing attack on corruption, warning that the theft of public funds intended for poor Malawians is undermining development and deepening hardship among the country’s most vulnerable citizens. Speaking at a Dawah event organised by the City Centre Masjid Committee in Lilongwe on Saturday, Suleman delivered one of […]
Agriculture Minister Roza Fatchi Mbilizi’s office has moved to counter accusations of corrupt dealings in Malawi’s fertiliser procurement system, with her team alleging that a smear campaign is being orchestrated by trading firms with a vested interest in the sector. According to the minister’s team, Export Trading Limited and Farmers World Limited are behind efforts […]
High Court has delivered a scathing rebuke to the government after ruling it unlawfully froze out four local companies from multimillion-kwacha fertiliser supply contracts — and ordered ministers to pay up for the mess. Judge Simeon Mdeza did not mince his words when he delivered the damning verdict in Lilongwe on 27 August, branding the […]
Parliament is facing renewed controversy after allegations emerged that Speaker Sameer Suleman may have had a conflict of interest in matters linked to a failed fertiliser-for-tobacco deal involving Eastbridge, a company formerly headed in Malawi by his son. The claims have intensified scrutiny of the Speaker amid reports that he allegedly encouraged tobacco buyers to […]
Agriculture Minister Roza Fatchi Mbilizi has hit back at claims swirling around her reform of Malawi’s fertiliser procurement system — with her team accusing shadowy trading cartels of orchestrating a smear campaign to discredit her. According to sources close to the Minister, she has come under fire after pushing for a major overhaul of how […]
Senior representatives of United Capital Fertilizer Zambia (UCF) have travelled to Malawi for meetings with Agriculture Minister Roza Mbilizi regarding a proposed fertiliser supply arrangement for the 2026/27 Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), in a development that has raised concerns over procurement processes and political oversight. UCF’s chief executive, Huang Yaochi, and the company’s commercial […]
Napoleon Dzombe, founder of Mtalimanja Holdings Limited, has confirmed that his fertiliser manufacturing plant in Dowa is set to begin operations after receiving approval from the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA). Dzombe said the company has already procured the raw materials required for production, following the regulatory clearance to commence operations. The approval came after […]
Malawi’s Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) has issued a stern warning to the Mulalo granular fertiliser production factory in Dowa district, stating that the project must operate strictly within the commitments set out in its approved Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report, Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) and Environmental and Social Monitoring Plan. In […]
A parliamentary joint committee investigating the administrative delays that have stalled approval of Mtalimanja Holdings’ Mulalo Fertiliser Plant in Dowa began its inquiry on Wednesday morning, hearing evidence from the company’s director on the impact of the hold-up. Napoleon Dzombe, the company’s director, appeared before the committee in person, while Robert Matengula, team leader for […]
A Malawian cabinet minister has accused the opposition of shameless hypocrisy over a stalled fertiliser factory project — insisting the party has no right to point fingers when it sat on the problem for years while in power. Local Government Minister Dr Ben Malunga Phiri let rip at the former ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) […]
Malawi’s Speaker of Parliament was on Wednesday accused of playing politics after he furiously blamed the opposition for the botched launch of a multimillion-kwacha fertiliser plant — triggering uproar in the chamber. Sameer Suleman, who presides over the National Assembly, sent MPs into a frenzy when he waded into a heated debate over businessman Napoleon […]
Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe has said the country will have a modern fertiliser manufacturing plant by December, 2023. Former president Peter Mutharika during his London last year struck an agricultural investment deal when he held talks with a team of investors, led by member of the Board for Innoselia Commercial Limited, Nir Gess and […]
Vice President Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima has on Monday presided over the launch of distribution of fertiliser and hybrid maize seed to the poorest households across the country at the Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) offices at Kanengo in Lilongwe. The initiative, by Yara International through its Action Africa Partnership (AAP), will […]
ETG Inputs Limited, Afriventure Blantyre Limited, Malawi Fertilizer Company and Worldwide Wholesalers are topping the chart on the companies awarded contract to supply farm inputs under the maiden Tonse Alliance government’s Affordable Input Programme (AIP). This is according to the letter the Director General of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA), Elias […]
Finance Minister Felix Mlusu’s K2.2 trillion 2020/2021 National Budget which he has presented in Parliament on Friday has seen the Education Sector getting the lion’s share with a whooping K384.5 billion allocation which is 21.6 percent of the total budget, representing 5.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mlusu said these resources will cater for […]
Experts from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) visited Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security where the two parties discussed measures on implementation of affordable inputs program (AIP). The experts from LUANAR’s department of agricultural extension and research services (DAES) urged the Ministry to look into other factors that can contribute positively to realise […]
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Lobin Lowe has announced termination of Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) and replaced it with another program the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) which will benefit 4.2 million farming households in the country. Addressing the media in Lilongwe on Friday, Lowe said AIP aims to enable Malawi attain food security […]