Karonga vendors petition DC over Chinese traders

Vendors in the northern Malawi district of Karonga on Tuesday petitioned Karonga district commissioner Emmanuel Bambe to relocate Chinese vendors from the district to the country’s cities.

Both the vendors and council confirmed the matter in separate interviews.

Vendors have been at loggerheads with the Chinese businesspeople in the district.

Reads in part the petition signed by 33 vendors:  “We, vendors in Karonga, humbly appeal to you bwana DC to protect our businesses from these Chinese vendors by getting rid of them here in Karonga to Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe or Mzuzu cities.”

The vendors claim their business has been taken by Chinese traders. The petition also says when the Chinese were ordered to stop doing business last year, the situation returned to normal.

“But after three weeks, these foreign vendors came back and some came masking their faces with indigenous proprietorship and business names,” reads the petition.

Bambe referred the matter to director of administration Steve Chima as he (the DC) was on holiday.

Chima said the matter  was discussed and dealt with before.

Said Chima: “We have the agreement between Chinese and Malawian governments, which states that they [Chinese] should be doing businesses in cities.”

“After closing the shops, we were receiving calls from people asking why we did that. Because of influence of some people, the Chinese are back and there is nothing we can do.”

Minister of Trade and Industry John Bande and his principal secretary could not be reached for comment.