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Minister of Trade and Private Sector Development Martin Kansichi has said his ministry has waged a war against the monopoly of sugar trade to even out the market for the benefit of all Malawians and not just a few people.
Kansichi was responding to findings by Parliamentary Committee of Commerce, Industry and Tourism which showed that former president Bakili Muluzi monopolises sugar trade in the country .
Kansichi said on Wednesday he has already organised his staff to start working on the sugar issue and that something tangible will come up very soon.
“I can assure you that we will work in the interests of Malawians because we don’t want the wrong things that have been in the business for the past years to continue in this government,” said Kansichi.
Kansichi added that government has a duty to stem the growth of monopolistic tendencies, saying this accumulates wealth for a few people at the expense of the majority.
He also warned that government will deal with those who take advantage of their positions to promote their personal interests.
“For instance, today I am a minister and it is not proper for me to use my position to influence certain unacceptable things in business,” he said.
Kansichi said the law, and not politics, should prevail in resolving the sugar issue.
“In the past we also discussed the sugar issue in the private sector but the problem is that we have a political connotation and as government we want to make sure that whatever is there is resolved in accordance with the law,” he said.
The minister said the ministry will deal with the issue professionally to put to rest fears that it would interfere with the operations of sugar manufacturer, Illovo.
Kansichi also stressed the need to revisit and amend the current law on business to put a restriction on the maximum market share that an individual or company can hold as a way of spreading out the market to many players.
“Therefore probably now we will re-look at our law and amend it to make sure that we rectify such things to ensure that when we talk about oversupplying we should be talking in line with what the law says,” said Kansichi.
He said when making amendments to the law it will be done in line with the principles and standards set up by the World Trade Organisation and other trading institutions.
Illovo’s public relations officer Irene Phalula last week denied allegations that Muluzi controls the sugar market, saying the former president only has a 30 percent share of the market through his Ntaja Trading.
The parliamentary committee’s findings also showed that apart from Ntaja Trading, Muluzi is involved in the sugar business through other businessmen like Kalaria in Lilongwe and others, according to the committee’s chairman Willard Gwengwe.
“The whole idea is to make sure that Malawians benefit from the businesses that are taking place in their own country,” said Kansichi.
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