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Governance and Development Advocates Zambia (GDAZ) Executive Director, Elias Mulenga, has condemned the protracted “artificial” shortage of mealie meal in the country describing it as a mockery to the Zambians.
Mulenga said it is sad that Zambians have been made to conclude that there is a shortage of the commodity when more than 10,000 bags of mealie meal have been impounded by the Police on the Copperbelt Province due to rampant smuggling.
He has further accused Millers of producing less mealie meal in order to increase on demand as the commodity fetches high prices in Zambia’s neighbouring countries and at the border towns.
Mulenga has questioned as to how the 10kilogramme bags of mealie meal have surfaced on the market when the 25kilogrames bags of the commodity are missing but are now being smuggled to neighbouring countries.
“This strategy by the Millers is an indication that they had produced a lot of 10 kgs and offloaded on the market for consumption and sold out the 25 kilogrammes for export which attracted smugglers to trade in the commodity,” he said.
Mulenga has called on the Zambia Police and the Zambia National Service (ZNS) not to relent on smugglers until the situation is normalized.
“Government must employ more Agriculture researchers and extension officers countrywide and to increase funding with farming inputs at the Ministry of Agriculture in order to mitigate food shortages in the country,” he said.
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