Wet tobacco to the floors

A vehicle registration BK 6111 on Thursday delivered wet tobacco bales at Mzuzu Floors. The vehicle, carrying 81 bales from Bolero in Rumphi, had no mandatory discs—certificate of fitness (CoF) and insurance—on display on its windscreen to prove its roadworthiness. The transporter belongs to the Northern Region Transporters’ Association and delivered the tobacco under Tobacco Association of Malawi (Tama) window. The Northern Region has been receiving heavy rains in the past weeks, but the driver did not cover the bales with tarpaulin as stipulated by the Tobacco Control Commission (TCC). Tama chief executive officer Graham Kunimba said his organisation will look into the issue and compensate concerned farmers accordingly. “This is not the first time it has happened for bales to get wet in transit; it happens year in year out and we compensate our farmers accordingly,” he said. The picture shows the truck in the Mzuzu Floors premises ready to deliver the wet leaf.—MARTHA CHIRAMBO, Staff Reporter