Patridge during his visit of Nchalo Estate warehouse full of sugar
* Visited Illovo’s Nchalo Sugar Estate where he told the media that the Ministry is working with Illovo to take out distributors who violate their licences
* He indicated that there is “a near monopoly or oligopoly on the distributorship” thus the need to enforce licensing regulations
By Duncan Mlanjira
President Peter Mutharika has appointed George Partridge as the new Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), 24 hours after Partridge toured Illovo Sugar Malawi’s Nchalo Estate in Chikwawa as Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade & Tourism — primarily to confirm the availability of sugar in the country.
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Partridge indicated to the media that his Ministry’s visit to Nchalo Estate on Wednesday was intended to enable the government to make informed policy decisions based on the realities of industry operations and sugar distribution, with its hoarding by traders leading to the commodity’s scarcity that leads to illegal price increase being some of the concerns sorrounding the sweet industry.
While the tour was to confirm the availability of sugar, Partridge added that Illovo has an impact on the country’s economy, thus the visit to understand the context in which it operates.
He further said the government does not want to formulate policies without a clear understanding of how industries operate on the ground — thus not wanting to be making policies in a vacuum.
Partridge indicated that discussions with Illovo management highlighted persistent challenges, including theft of cane from its fields and the effects of climate change on production: “We have understood the extent of the issue and how they are sorting it out.”
The boardroom engagement
He further said the Ministry was working with Illovo to strengthen sugar distribution systems and enforce licensing regulations in order to solve sugar hoarding and smuggling.
During off-production season around December and April, sugar becomes scarce that leads to increase of prices but this has been discovered not to be the case of Illovo failing to meet any demand since the company produces enough stock for national consumption during the off-production period.
However, Maravi Express — in a private investigation — discovered that sugar-scarcity-is-cunningly-being-manufactured-by-cartel-of-distributors-through-hoarding/ by unscrupulous traders who deliberately withhold the commodity in order to profit from illegal price increase during off-production period.
Partridge and his entourage from the Ministry of Trade, were assured that the company has enough sugar available in its warehouses to cover up to April when the season production shall resume.
When it was alluded to that the scarcity of the commodity is due to hoarding and smuggling, Partridge told the media that the Ministry is working with Illovo “to take out distributors who violate their licences”.
He added that there is “a near monopoly or oligopoly on the distributorship”, thus working with Illovo to strengthen sugar distribution systems and enforce licensing regulations to solve the sugar hoarding and smuggling.
This should be a matter of concern and action that the next Minister to be appointed to replace Partridge would need to address as a matter of urgency as scarcity of sugar and its subsequent price increase of up to K5,000 per 1kg packet is way too high for most Malawians.
On the availability of sugar, Illovo Managing Director, Ronald Ngwira indicated that they still have many hectares of cane fields still unharvested due to the persistent rains that renders their fields too soft for their heavy transportation machinery to navigate.
Managing Director Ngwira in an interview with the media inside the warehouse on Wednesday
Meanwhile, Partridge — who replaces Dr. Mafuta Mwale as RBM Governor — previously worked at the Central Bank rising to the position of Director before serving as group chief executive officer of Press Corporation Limited — Malawi’s largest conglomerate with investments in banking, telecommunications, energy, manufacturing, and tourism.
In addition, he has chaired several major boards, including Malawi Airlines and Sunbird Tourism Plc and his appointment as RBM Governor places him among a small group of Malawians who have served at the highest levels of both the central banking system and the private financial sector — a background analysts believe will be critical in navigating inflationary pressures, foreign exchange challenges, and broader macroeconomic instability.
A seasoned economist and corporate executive, Patridge brings to RBM decades of experience in banking, finance, corporate leadership, and public service and his appointment is expected to strengthen monetary policy management and restore confidence in the country’s financial system at a time of economic strain.
Born on May 22, 1963, Partridge holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics (with distinction) from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College, and a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. He is also a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA).
He built a distinguished career in the financial sector, including senior leadership roles at the National Bank of Malawi, where he served as Chief Executive Officer.
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