This latest government action is just another ill advised bandaid measure and is unsustainable in the same way the UNIP had coupons for cheap mealie meal which in the end led to shortages and smuggling problems.
By Chishala Kateka.
Lusaka, Oct. 13 – The New Heritage Party (NHP) would like to caution the Zambian public that whilst we always welcome any measure no matter how small, that alleviates the economic hardships of our people, such as the just announced reductions in the price of mealie meal from ZNS and “Allied Millers” plus the Shop Rite chain stores, it is our well founded position that the UPND government, once again, is being duplicitous, conniving and corrupt in it’s dealings over this ZNS mealie meal.
Also Read: Open Letter to the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Hichilema.
Why do we say so? To begin with, the Government is claiming that they have established that the real cost of production of a 25kg bag of breakfast meal is K180 and that with a markup of K30, everyone; the millers and the retailers ( Shop Rite and other undisclosed favoured outlets) will be catered for and laughing all the way to the bank.
This is a dishonest act on the part of Government desperately trying to buy back it’s waning political fortunes as a result of the overwhelming vote of no confidence that the people of Zambia across the country have voiced as regards this corrupt and incompetent UPND Government. It is dishonest because this same Government not so long ago, ordered all the millers to buy up all the maize from our farmers that was not being bought by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) at market prices. These prices were in all cases higher than what FRA was paying for the maize it was buying and storing as a strategic reserve.
The milling companies dutifully stepped up to the plate and bought the remaining maize in bulk so as to ensure security of supply of the commodity on the market. The Government has always insisted, and rightfully so, that the FRA is not a market player in the trading of grains and other food stuffs, but is, as it’s name suggests, is the national granary of last resort should there be supply problems in the food situation in the country.
1. So why has the Government found it fit to break into the national granary, if as the Chief Government Spokesperson Honourable Mweetwa , kept repeating, ” there is no maize shortage on the market” ?
2. Why is this Government which has touted itself as being capitalist to the hilt, and business friendly indulging in anti-capitalist, anti- business interventions and in turn distorting the market to the disadvantage of the majority of the independent millers?
Having duped the millers into buying up all the expensive maize – just as they duped the farmers into growing soya beans with a fake promise of some imaginary international soya deal they had allegedly struck with an equally phantom buyer – the Zambian millers are going to be stuck with mealie meal they will not be able to sell owing to the artificially below market fixed price that the ‘Allied Millers’ will be selling their mealie meal at.
On top of this, most Millers will now have their financiers, the banks, asking for the loans gotten to purchase the maize to be paid back as scheduled. It is clear for anyone with basic understanding of how commerce works that, ultimately milling factory closures are going to follow with attendant job losses and an actual mealie meal shortage due to questions of the capacity of the ZNS and the shadowy “Allied Millers” to satisfy national demand.
This deal smacks of yet more corruption, and lack of transparency in the manner the procurement, selection and engagement of the ZNS and the so called ‘Allied Millers’ and Shop Rite stores has been done.
We ask the Government to come clean on this issue and, for the first time, attempt to be truthful by coming with proof of a public and transparent tender process that they engaged in to chose these entities including obscure ones which the Minister could not name.
◦ Why has only one foreign owned retail outlet been contracted leaving out Zambian businesses, small, medium and large scale? Once again we see how foreign inclined this UPND Government is.
◦ How are we going to produce Zambian millionaires if they are kept away from participating in major government tenders and contracts?
◦ Why is this UPND Government so happy to see Zambian tax payers money go out of the country in form of lost foreign exchange as this foreign company does not keep it’s money in our Zambian banks adding to the further weakening of the already weak Kwacha?
In the end this latest government action is just another ill advised bandaid measure and is unsustainable in the same way the UNIP had coupons for cheap mealie meal which in the end led to shortages and smuggling problems.
The problem with this UPND Government is that they have a know it all attitude, and do not want to be seen to have failed when they get sound advice from other fellow Zambians. We as Opposition only last week offered the UPND government an olive branch by reaching out to them.
We demand that this dubious UPND mealie meal deal be stopped forthwith and a more transparent process in which our people, the Zambian businesses and all players participate fairly. There is need to institute a more transparent, sustainable and inclusive solution, in place of this corrupt and duplicitous charade of the UPND Government’s deal.
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