The Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) has snubbed a plea by the Consumers Association of Malawi (CAMA) requesting the Commission to make public names of the traders that were found to be hoarding sugar thereby creating high prices and scarcities of product.

According to CAMA executive director John Kapito, sugar distribution and pricing has remained a challenge to consumers run by a syndicate of corrupt and unscrupulous producers and distributors.

Alleged Kapito: “Consumers continue to experience scarcities and high prices of sugar on the market unfortunately Sugar is a controlled commodity with no competition regarding its production and distribution on the Malawian market giving consumers no alternative choices of supply.”

“We are therefore appealing to CFTC to release names of the traders that were found to be hoarding the Sugar thereby creating high prices and scarcities of Sugar.”

But reacting to plea, CFTC has stressed that it is not the standard practice for the Commission to name the companies under investigations before the probe is concluded.

Responded Helema: “It is not the standard practice for CFTC to name the companies under investigations before the investigations are concluded and determinations made.

“The standard practice is that, once the investigations are concluded, the investigations report is submitted to the Commission (Board) for their determination. Once the determination is done, it is when we invite the media houses to a meeting where we make the determinations public.”

CFTC has since assured the public to expect pronouncements on some of such cases soonest considering that the Commission (Board) for the CFTC has now been fully constituted.

The Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and other stakeholders has conducted a number of market surveillance activities and has made discoveries some of which point to the hoarding of sugar.