State produce trader Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) has sent its entire staff on paid leave as part of an exercise to redefine its functions to serve Malawians better.

Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe said in a statement released in Lilongwe on Wednesday that all staff who will report to the office without being communicated to will be considered as trespassers and will face appropriate action.

Lowe: Admarc has
failed to tick

He said the move has also been necessitated by the continued poor performance of the struggling parastatal which has led shareholders to further suspend all its services except social services until further notice.

Said Lowe: “For over two years we have been in government, we have been analysing best ways of restructuring this institution and my ministry together with other shareholders has concluded that Admarc’s failure to tick and bring the desired results is attributed to numerous factors.”

He said the factors include prolonged conflicts between Admarc board of directors and management, leading to poor governance and abuse of company finances and theft by some employees.

Lowe also highlighted low productivity contributed by laziness of some company employees, s u s p e c t e d c o r r u p t practices perpetrated by some employees and unprocedural recruitment leading to excess workforce as other factors frustrating the growth of the organisation.

He said such factors have made Admarc fail to contribute to the country’s economic growth through agricultural commodities value addition, provide readily available markets for inputs and produce for smallholder farmers and implement government agricultural policies like price stabilisation.

But the minister said the decision will not affect the sale of maize in hotspot areas where the institution has opened its markets on the basis that some officers have been assigned to take charge of such markets.

Admarc is one of the parastatals that have been struggling financially and has over the years failed to serve Malawians as per its mandate as produce stabiliser and ready market for farmers. Admarc has also failed to perfom its social function of as government’s food security apparatus.

According to the 2021 Malawi Government Annual Economic Report, as at half year of the 2021/22 financial year, Admarc recorded a net loss-after-tax of K3.7 billion.

The report further states that Admarc, barely a going concern, has been surviving through over drafts and loans which has been a setback to its growth.

In May this year, Admarc board of directors also suspended its general manager Rhyno Chiphiko for buying a luxurious vehicle at a time the company is struggling financially.

However, both Chiphiko and board chairperson Alexander Kusamba Dzonzi said a disciplinary hearing could not be effected due to lack of funds.

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