Malawi Losing Mk13 Billion Through Tobacco Smuggling

Source from:  Malawi24 04/23/2015

Authorities say Malawi is losing about MK 13 billion each year due to tobacco smuggling to Zambia and other neighboring countries.

Malawi24 understands that the crop farmers in Mzimba and Kasungu each year illegally export tobacco to Zambia in search for better prices.

Lack of clear boarder demarcations and intermarriages between people from the neighbouring nations are some of the most obvious pushing factors to the boom of the illegal trade.

For example in Mzimba, the boarder lines are complicated to most lay men thus traders find chances to conduct their business without any panic or fear of the law, as they assume the same acts as their back up.

Those who have married in Zambia most of the times smuggle tobacco in form of gifts to their in laws thus very tricky to be caught.

"They send their tobacco in form of a gift to their Zambian in-laws thus you can't easily catch them," assumed one source at Mtwocha in Mzimba in an interview.

The trend being as such it led to the banging of heads between Tobacco Controlling Commission Boards of the two countries recently.

The two met an agreement and earlier this week they traced all the routes suspected to be used by smugglers.

Tobacco Control Commission (TTC) of Malawi Executive Manager Bruce Mnthali said the aim behind such an exercise was to find the routes and thereafter put in place some measures to curb the malpractice.

However Munthali as well cited poor boarder demarcations and intermarriages as some of the problems that can affect the surmounting of such malpractices.

"Poor definition of boarders between the two countries and the marriages between the same is the base of smuggling but I believe something will happen urgently to overlook such malpractices," Said Munthali.

Tobacco remains Malawi's green gold as about 60 percent of this country's economy relay on the same crop. Enditem