Salima Sugar courts CSOs to appreciates its efforts
Scores of Civil Society Organizations leaders on Saturday, toured Salima Sugar Company to appreciate challenges and efforts the company is making in addressing sugar prices and scarcity.
The Civil Society Organizations visit follows a shortage of sugar which the country has been experiencing. On top of that the price of sugar has skyrocketed for no apparent reasons.
Briefing the media after the tour, Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) along with its 97 network members and CSOs under the banner Malawi Civil Society Led Black Economic Empowerment Movement (MaBLEM) chairperson, Robert Mkwezalamba , commended Salima Sugar company as well as government for swift efforts in revitalizing the company and stabilizing sugar availability on the local market.
Mkwezalamba said the CSOs were so impressed that the company is doing alot in stabilising the market prices and ensure that sugar is found everywhere without hurdles. He gave the example that the company is establishing sugar depots across the country.
Recently MaBLEM leadership witnessed a historic moment as the first batch of sugar was delivered to SANA MEGA stores in Lilongwe as this followed Salima Sugar company’s resumption of production after closure due to management issues.
Mkwezalamba commended SANA for setting the price of 1 kg of sugar at MK2,200 which is a recommended retail price for Salima Sugar.
He said MaBLEM remains deeply concerned over the sugar scarcity on the market. This scarcity has led to panic buying and the introduction of imported sugar from other countries, often sold at inflated prices beyond government recommendations, unfortunately this situation has placed a disproportionate burden on the ordinary Malawians while primarily benefiting businesses.
MaBLEM took proactive steps to engage local manufacturer to address the bottlenecks in sugar distribution and availability to local consumers and the process is ongoing.
MaBLEM has since dedicated in monitoring this process and has mobilized CSO teams across all regions to ensure fairness and advocate for price reductions as production levels normalize.
MaBLEM is therefore urging Competition and Fair Trading Commission and the Police to intensify oversight and ensure adherence to recommended prices until supply stabilizes both small and medium enterprises that are taking advantage of Malawians.
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