A logistics expert has suggested Malawi to the Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) system of procuring fuel, to reduce importation costs. Speaking to The Nation newspaper Pascal Chikaonda, a former chief executive officer of Malawi Cargo Centre Limited, said the current system was expensive.

The tip follows concerns by a group of concerned fuel haulers called on the government to abolish the DDU system, saying out of 300 transporters that are given the business, only 10 are locals. Already with that complaint with fuel transporters, the DDU system involves a seller assuming liabilities and costs associated with delivering goods to a country, with the buyer assuming the duty fees or costs to bring the product into the country.

Chikaonda also pointed out that the players in the transport sector could do better. “Using this system is killing haulage capacity, instead of growing it. In terms of policy, my view is that you are becoming more land-locked because, initially, the whole idea of the northern corridor was for Malawians to manage all the way to Dar es Salaam.”