The government has ordered millers that are under the tripartite agreement to flood the market with mealie-meal.
Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo says the shortage of mealie-meal is uncalled for because all the millers on tripartite agreement with government through the Food Reserve Agency -FRA- have enough maize to last up to the next crop marketing season.
Mr. Katambo says the government will not allow unscrupulous business people to create artificial mealie-meal shortages and come up with exorbitant prices so as to exploit consumers.
He says the mealie-meal retail price still stands at between K135 and K137 for a 25-kilogram bag of breakfast meal and that it is even printed on the bags.
Mr. Katambo says the government will not hesitate to engage the security wings and the Local Government through the councils to apprehend those selling mealie-meal at higher prices than the recommended one which is printed on the bags.
Mr. Katambo said this during a conducted tour of selected millers in Lusaka in the company of Presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe, Agriculture Permanent Secretary Songowayo Zyambo and other State House senior officials.
And Mr. Sikazwe has urged millers to start monitoring the prices of mealie-meal they supply on the market and ensure that retailers are selling the commodity within the recommended prices.
Meanwhile, the three milling companies visited include Champion Milling, Pembe and African Milling which have all confirmed that they have enough maize stocks of about 30 Thousand metric tonnes on average each to last up to the next marketing season.
Under which law will you arrest people selling at a higher price?
That is when these people they will wake up especially lusaka and copperbelt province,you have got too much water in your head.is they no shop for tribalism where you buy cheap mealie meal for bembas and easterners?sole William muzanya mazi
Management by crisis. Mr President is a very poor manager who has been out of touch with the ground/reality. You cant always wait for reports from your incompetent ministers. Get out of that rocking chair and shake up the bolt sir. You are failing. Stop waiting for crisis and then start jumping around and finger pointing.
Very dull govt indeed. With rising costs due to your poor economy management and horrendous fiscal and monetary policies currently prevailing in Zambia and you have guts to threaten Millers?. Shameless failures. With scarce maize on the market for Millers how do you in your infinite folly think mealie prices will go down. You elected solar hammer mills in various places in the country what good have they been to justify their cost of being built? If there is abundant maize grain on the market why have these solar hammer mills remained inactive?. Has govt subsidized the cost of maize to be issuing empty threats to swindle unsuspecting people into thinking we have a working govt when infact not. Ba PF zambians didn’t vote for you so you could become jokers pretending to be working, we…
Ba PF zambians didn’t vote for you so you could become jokers pretending to be working, we need men and women who will do the actual required work to bring sanity and prosperity to this nation currently crumbling under the watch of the humble one.
KK era price controls back in place.
At least KK had the Cold War and liberation struggles to blame , but PF , having just indebted Zambians to the tune of $17 billion, you can cry out loud.
This is even before principle amounts on Eurobonds are due.
I told you , the only thing that will bring temporary relief to lungu is good rains, even with good rains lungu is on shaky ground.
I remember an editorial in diggers news were they said, and I quote ‘ Things were OK for Kaunda until he touched mealie meal’ I think our leaders should take this issue seriously
I commented on this. Lt be serious. I am.a busy man. Do not waste my time
Really laughable is it this villager Michael Katambo who left his missus of 20 years for a young girl because he now has taxpayer’s money and free hotel room at Parliament Hotel brothel…you have no powers to order them not even the dull chap in State House, this is not one party era!
Here in South Africa maize meal price is controlled one can’t just put his own price to sell and exploit consumers.
Millers and other unscrupulous grain marketing firms have been buying our Zambian maize and exporting to South Africa only to then process it into mealie meal and export it to the DRC as a finished product of Sas Africa. As a nation we are being robbed in broad daylight and our govt is watching this happen. Why can’t the govt help farmers by allowing them to export without all the unnecessary paperwork to DRC this will allow our nation to earn more forex which will come back to Zambia and not what is happening with these Greek millers who externalize their revenue.
Let the mealie meal go to k500 per 25kgs so that you start thinking ba lusaka and copperbelt province.l feel pity for that poor woman who celebrated when they declared Edgar lungu as a win.Any bemba or easterner shop where you buy mealie meal at cheaper because of your tribalism? wunangu azakashulila kumatako if we don’t control this tribalism championed by mumbi phiri,form 4 GBM and mbewe
Zambians must begin to move away from Mealie meal or they risk extinction like Dinosaurs especially with this Climate change! It’s surprising that 55+ years after Independence, you are still queuing for the political food? Follow Gogo Wina’s advice! Try to slowly substitute other food crops into the diet. We have great varieties of food in Zambia. The problem is we lack creativity with our food varieties!
how can you flood the market when there is a shortage of maize !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop crying like baby hyenas. Just go back to the land and grow your own maize. Currently we are lobbying for the upward adjustment of the mealie-meal price to at least k600/bag.
PF is now running the country like a school ground: taking down noise makers, swearers, and those selling sweets outside the tuckshop. It will only get worse. Unfortunately they have the police and all manner of dangerous concoctions that they claim are law.
Flood the market from where? When there is nothing you cant just produce something out of thin air. Has this man been to school?