Africa-Press – Malawi. Illovo Sugar Malawi plc’s Nchalo Estate is facing growing anger and disbelief from employees after what many see as a shocking double standard in its handling of a scrap metal scandal.
The controversy erupted when an employee, Lameck Gowa, was dismissed over a scrap metal incident, while the contractor at the center of the scandal was allegedly reinstated.
Sources say the non-ferrous company, awarded a contract to buy scrap metal from the estate, was caught loading cutting discs and conveyor belts alongside scrap metal—items later recovered after offloading. Both Gowa and the contractor were suspended at the time. Gowa went through a disciplinary hearing and was dismissed.
However, insiders claim the contractor has now resumed operations at Nchalo’s scrap yard.
“To the surprise of many employees, the same company is loading scrap metals again while Gowa was fired. Is this justice or rule of the jungle?” one source questioned.
Another added:
“In all fairness, this contractor should have had their contract terminated. SMEs who previously ran the scrap business were removed because Illovo wanted to deal with recycling companies. Ironically, this contractor does not recycle steel—it trades just like the SMEs that were pushed out. Nchalo Estate’s performance leaves a lot to be desired.”
The estate is also battling operational challenges, including potential carryover of sugarcane into the next crushing season in April 2026 due to frequent factory breakdowns. Rampant theft of sugarcane continues, despite deployment of 80 police officers weekly and private security from GardaWorld. Reports suggest Illovo loses at least 20,000 metric tonnes of sugarcane per month, much of which is traced to surrounding villages.
With Mr. Ronald Ngwira taking over as Managing Director on September 8, addressing these challenges is urgent. Nchalo Estate contributes only 30% of Illovo Sugar Malawi’s profits, despite having more hectares than Dwangwa Estate.
Attempts to get official comments from Illovo were ignored. Our repeated questionnaires to the company went unanswered, a pattern seen in previous serious matters.
Attached is our Questionnaire which was never attended to despite several reminders.
Good morning Hope this Questionnaire finds you well.
We have been informed that Illovo stopped engaging SMEs on scrap metals dealership and it opted to offer business to a big company called Non-Fellous. Although the company was involved in non-ethical conduct that led to suspension of business some months ago, Illovo decided to fire your employee Lameck Gowa and reinstated the company dealership. I wanted to confirm with you on these developments and how you can clarify or justify the decisions that the company made?
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