Govt suspends duty on mealie meal, signs statutory instrument to support measure

Government has signed a statutory instrument to provide for suspension of duty on mealie meal.

Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, in a statement issued on Tuesday in Lusaka, said the duty suspension is only applicable when mealie meal is imported by a holder of an import permit issued by the Ministry of Agriculture.

He said Statutory Instrument (SI) Number 10 0f 2023, was gazetted and came into operation on April 6, 2023.

“The measure has been implemented to help address the shortage of mealie-meal in some parts of the country,” Musokotwane said.

Read More:Govt claims ‘hundreds of vehicles’ seized on the Copperbelt in fight against Mealie meal smugglers.

He said by suspending the duty on maize flour/mealie-meal, the government expects to see increased availability of the staple commodity.

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