The Tobacco Commission says the implementation of reforms at the institution is bearing fruits giving the parastatal organisation hope for greater efficiency in promoting the production and marketing of tobacco in Malawi.
The Commission’s spokesperson Telephorus Chigwenembe says the implementation of the reforms turned around the industry regulator’s financial performance having earned a K325million profit in 2021.
In the previous year, the Commission recorded an K81million loss.
According to Chigwenembe, sound financial management measures that the Commission put in place helped the institution avoid another loss in the 2020/2021 financial year.
On Monday this week, the Tobacco Commission presented to Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima progress of reforms implemented by the parastatal organisation between March 2021 and February this year.
According to Chigwenembe, in the 2019/2020 financial year, the Commission’s revenue came to K3.6 billion but recorded a loss of K81million.
However, by the end of the 2020/2021 financial year, the institution’s revenue was at K3.5billion but recorded a K325 million profit.
This enabled the Commission to remit 20% of its surplus to Government.
Chigwenembe says this turn in the parastatal organisation’s financial position came about because of the reforms at the institution.
While the Tobacco Commission declared dividends to Government in the 2020/2021 financial year, some parastatal organisations are performing dismally financially and are requesting Government’s financial bail outs.
The Tobacco Commission runs without government subvention and the institution generates revenue from statutory levies.
When it met the Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima who is also responsible for Public Sector Reforms, the Tobacco Commission covered five reform areas – the strengthening of the regulatory framework; enhancement of tobacco production and marketing integrity; the improvement of stakeholder understanding of the Commission’s mandate and roles; improvement of financial sustainability; and the strengthening of institutional capacity.
Meanwhile, according to its strategic plan, the Tobacco Commission which is mandated to promote the production and marketing of tobacco in the country, seeks to increase the country’s annual tobacco production volumes by 2023.
