The Minister of Agriculture has ruled out further subsidies on the cost of mealie meal.
Brian Chituwo said it is not practical to subsidise the cost of the staple food beyond the existing maize concessions from the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
He said government is already subsidising the cost of mealie mealie through the off-loading of cheaper maize stocks from FRA to the millers.
Dr. Chituwo however told ZNBC that government is determined to ensure mealie meal prices remain below sixty thousand Kwacha per 25 kilogram bag of breakfast.
He accused some mealie meal traders of quoting high prices despite buying the commodity at low prices from millers.
And Dr. Chituwo observed that early buying and delivery of agricultural inputs will act as a long term measure to boost food production in ZAMBIA.
[ZNBC]
Tighten your belts fellow zambians hard times ahead!!
I think we dealt with the issue of millers and traders, the big thing or issuwe is there is no maize in the so called reserves to last Zambia the next three months…Government can subsidize on Mealie Meal, it is attaineble…we need to do a serious cost cutting measures…why do we need a Task Force to this effect…why do we need such a bloated cabinet? and why continue opaying those high allowances for sitting on NCC?
#2 the belts are already tight, unless you want people to cut their waists!
sorry, I meant #1
Hard time indeed, but Chituwo, are you really sure that your government does not see the suffering of the masses and that there is need to do something real just for once? After all, who was it that promised lower food prices prior to the erections? Where you really hoodwinking our poor relatives in the villages? Because those are the people who voted for your govt. Or are you punishing us the urbanites for not voting for your president?
This is wired??. You dont determine what you are going to subsdise as if it is your money iwe. The money is from the same people so give them. That thing called Ubunga can even be for free if that is what it takes to put the GRZ on truck. The problem you talk like iwe it is your money. The very fact that you have failed to motivate people to grow th economy means you have failed iwe chi minister. Zambian are not lazy. They are simply saying you are failing them. You cant plan yet you want to be governors. Your duty is to find a solution where ever it is….
Nine Chale
People all over the world are tightening there belts everyday the same applies in Zed problem is we all wait for a miracle from the Gov why not try God for a change and pray tht your leaders are given the wisdom to sort this mess out
The best you can do GRZ is to resighn if you are failing to solve problems. This is not the time to use bad language on people down there after all they have put in. People on top should always remember that, Zambia is for Zambiams not crooks who think Zambian money is for them to steal. If you find your self there by chance, please pave way for people who can do the right job.
Oweee, kanshi twafwapa Zedi… I know nshima is our daily bread..
That is what it is. You know what, people choose a set of people to governthem. Briliant and best minds they can intrust there hope in. They then go about working hard in the mines and the rest….. So when things go wrong, they turn back to GRZ. Therefore wise GRZ would say or, here we failed and we are working hard to repare or simply quit for more briliant minds to come on. But what we have so far is arogance and know it all???. You say, people are stuving, a minister says you can die because we are not going to use your money to serve you from dieng og hanger (Wired). Do you know that other countries even pay the jobless to keep them going
8/6. your flag CIAO
Do people like you realize that because of your arguments with no facts calling everything GRZ Crook and corruption all sorts is what gives africans including yourself a bad name and when white people look down on you you ask why??? You make it easy for people to make a black man work against a brother.
And particularly ZAmbians who are not happy to see a brother prosper
Expect more assinations over nshima,are we really safe?
If it would take the money yousaved from takes on the mines to save your people, why not do it. You can subsdise mealie meal but protect it from being taken outside the country, especially if you dont have enough????.
Yes #11, but that is thr reality. White people are smart in that sense. If we look at things in a wired sense that will always put us in a less valueble possitions, then why not change. I mean we have have to be frank and that is the only way we will stop nonsense from GRZ. Dont you hear of cases were self confased drug barons are steal serving as ministers. What about the Zamtrop case. In fact may whites see us as crooks because of the few people I am trying to highlight you on.
In fact you guys in the USA even recieve stumps. USA government is feeding you freely so that you can be productive. I dont know if you are in USA
How about to be recolonized by the whites. Look at Zambia and all other African Countries before independence and now. Total Mess, unending Cholera outbreaks and all.
I am sick and tired.
Something must be done about this, its just too much. K 75,000. a bag of mealie meal when some people eg security guards, cleaners, etc get a paltry K 250, 000. per month with a family of six. This is silent GENOCIDE.
#16, Hold it….. Do you want slave trade to rerurn?
I am not in the US but i hear you its sad i have come across a lot of grown people who seem to have something against everything probably in my observation they mist out on success. They seem to have a certain anger i just dont understand is it they wish they where in those positions. and most of these people are 35 and above someone tell me why the anger and dislike for everything that calls for logical thinking
Why don’t they eat cake?
I like Chituwo. He is good at his job.
I’m afraid we will soon have deaths from hanger.When these guys where talking about increasing their salaries,they where saying the cake has grown bigger,hence the decision to increase their share.It seems the cake is just being shared by a few,when the masses continue living in serious poverty.Why can’t the talked about big cake be used to subsidisefood instead of beimg used to fill selfish pocket?These guys need to learn to plan ahead,IT WASN’T RAINING WHEN NOAH BUILT THE ARK!!!
Zambia is one of the most blessed in terms of water resource yet not able to feed herself. The only problem why she can’t feed herself is becoz of leaders without a focus. Instead of giving people subdized farm inputs, they give them chitengez, t-shirts, salaula,and bribes.
When Chituwo opens his mouth, pliz do yourself good by ignoring becoz his decisions are adhoc oriented.
God bless Zambia.
How can you subsidize mealie meal when you emptied the govt funds during elections?
Surely,there is very little you can do Brig.Gen Dr.Brian Chituwo.You found the mess at that ministry,and you shall leave it as it is.How much does it cost to repair the NCZ in Kafue?.
only those that can afford belts can be able to tigten them. Some of us r 2 poor to afford one. Its gona get worse 4 us!!
#26, I feel you, I can only urge/encourage those zambians in Diaspora to continue supporting their families back home in Zedi. The situation is bad and real.
The Americans even had a vicious civil war in their history. They did not call the British back to recolonise them. They resolved their problem.
We will encounter many problems. We will resolve them. You people in USA and Europe you are dealing with societies which even benefited from slavery. Don’t, Don’t, Don’t bring the inferiority complex you feeel there on this blog.
sata was right. Hate him or love him the truth is he speaks for the poor. Most of the things that he said are always coming to pass. we need him more than he needs Zambia.He has been board and loud. he offers solutions whilst attacking the Govt., on wrong policies. Unless you havent been following his comments. He questioned peter cottan why he reduced mealie meal b4 elections and now check the price!!!!! Teta has a milling plant check his prices. Viva Sata, Viva Mudala.
Grow more maize you monkeys. Subsidies wont increase the amount of maize on the market. Learn from your own history. Kaunda subsidised maize from 1964 to 1991. Did it ever make you self-sufficient in maize? Pathetic morons. Just pay the people who grow maize market prices rather than the bureaucratic prices set by your socialist FRA.
#19 C.I.A,
No man, it is not like that. I am very successful but I feel for a lot of people back home. I have seen how things are done in many countries and they are succesful. No fancy or fuss about anything but man if things were OK in as you want to put it, people whould have been much better. I am sure you know what I mean. If these things are not checked, we will end up just like Zim. It is all about excuses yet we have everything it takes just to put the lives of many out of denger of hunger.
Bitter SATA has the blinded ones craving and ranting. Pathetic souls you PF losers are.
If we are not careful the situation in Zambia might escalate to a position of Somalia,Ethopia el tal countries which have abandunt resources but due to poor governance war erupted destroying the infrastructer leading no zero production hence relaying on aid from foriegn countries.
I really feel sad when i go to shops here and buy a kapamela for £1.99 when people in zambia are starving.People the worst is yet to come.Very soon people will be wearing cross belts to wear their trousers because normal belts will have nothing to hold..Yaba its really dense pa Zed..anyone want a ticket to come here..
Amen
Bafwa bakapoli nomba especially those villagers. Wow!
No sympathy from me. Just die. Nakuba bufi.
#11 CIA ilimbushi seriously. Ask yourself why you are in the UK.
Political gimicks backfiring. So obvious. And what about the price of fuel? Oil is at 45 bucks and still no reductions at the filling station.
Mr.Chituwo lives in the stone age the price of mealie-meal is high because of the cost petrol, $10 dollars buys you 3 litres of Petrol in Zambia, Now $10 dollars buys you 7 litres of Petrol in the United States.The price of almost everything is connected to gas,
General Dr Brian Chituwo, what logic are you using by saying that there will be no subsdidies and yet you expect mealie meal prices to be below K60,000? No sir, you are just taking people for a ride. I thought the MMD brought about trade liberalism and vendors are allowed to sell goods and services at profitable margins? Ati nkhani yalula!
Man cannot only live on AKAMUTAKA, try other fast foods not until your government backs the agriculture sector than you go back to your Akabwali. Surely, forty notubana solid years of independence still complaining of hunger! Dr. Chituwo do something failure to which?………..someone to fill in the blank space.
i’m going out to do my Christmas shopping as you cry about AKAMUTAKIZO.
GRZ need to check the statistic of how many Zedians have killed a relative over Nshima?then will reconsider price reduction for the poor Zedians.
The price is very high and we can not manage that for alng time from now.
Viva H H man who can reduce the high prices of food basket pa Zed.
Protesting over maize meal prices won’t provide a long term solution. The best way forward is to encourage Urban dwellers(the main consumers of maize meal)to go farming in their spare time. That is the way most people in Makeni and Chilanga area survive. They grow their own maize and take it to the millers. For those of you who don’t have land in the cities you can use your rural connections, pay them to grow some maize for you or trek to the village over the weekends to do the farming yourself.
We shouldn’t encourage RB to go back to the old KK socialist days of subsiding the consumers. It makes sense to subside the producers(through fertilizer price reduction)
I have observed in my little life of Guzzle, on the part of bar attenders that is, that the hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stup1d.
Cool man
YOU ARE DOING NATHING MY FRIEND CHITUWA WHO ARE YOU PANSHING I AM TELLING YOU THAY IS THE END OF MMD.COME 20011 YOU CRY AND SOME OF YOU YOU WILL BE ARESTED REMBER YOU ARE BEING CHOOSEN BY PEOPLE.GOD WILL PUNSHING YOU AND YOUR GOVERMENT
real hard times…