Karonga Town Council has closed down 11 rice and groundnuts mills for allegedly failing to dump rice and groundnuts husks at a designated location at Katili to ensure good sanitation within the town.
The council’s chairperson Baleke Maholo said in an interview on Tuesday that the exercise follows a series of warnings and meetings with rice and groundnuts owners which started two months ago.
“However, despite several reminders, the operators never removed these heaps of husks. Others decided to dump them along the road,” he said.
Maholo also said there is pollution in homes and lodges due to failure to dump the waste in designated sites.
“The situation is worsening as lodges are refusing to pay revenue to due to the pollution,” he said.
| Jordan Simeon-Phiri
Maholo warned that every rice or groundnuts mill that will defy the closure will be fined K500 000 while those found dumping refuse along the road will pay K250 000.
A rice mill owner Winnie Sichali described the closure as a blow to her business, saying it is the only source of her income.
“Some of us use capital from money lending institutions. So, this closure will affect our families,” she said.
Karonga District Maize, Rice and Groundnuts Millers Association chairperson Felix Mwakyanjala said the clamp down was long overdue.
“We were warned two months ago about this, but we chose to give a blind eye. However, we will do all we can to reverse the situation as our livelihoods depend on the business,” he said.
