GOVT SUSPENDS TAX IMPOSED ON IMPORTATION OF MAIZE FLOUR

As hunger situation in the country is getting worse day by day, Ministry of Trade and Industry has suspended duty on maize with immediate effect.

The development comes barely days after opposition People’s Party (PP) Interim President Uladi Mussa said the tax imposed on flour is doing injustice to Malawians who are currently suffering from the hunger strike due to unavailability of Maize in ADMARC deports.

Speaking to a Tiuzeni Zoona programme on Sunday, Mussa order the government to immediately suspend the tax.

But in a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry says the suspension is effective until 31st May 2016.

The Ministry says the suspension has been made in order to ease the flow of flour into the country in view of the current food situation and to reduce the challenges some sections of the population are facing in accessing maize flour.

In this regard the Ministry says all importers of maize flour are not required to obtain an import license from government.

‘This action is expected to facilitate the free flow of maize flour in Malawi without compromising the quality which is expected to be assured by the Malawi Bureau of Standards-MBS at the border.’ The statement reads.

The Ministry is therefore advising all concerned border agencies to take note of this development and implement this directive immediately.