By Agness Changala
Please educate our mother not to politicise food, says Zambia National Service (ZNS) commander Lieutenant General Maliti Solochi over allegations that the service is producing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) mealie meal.
Gen Solochi says ZNS stands ready to sponsor independent lab tests of the mealie meal it produces at one of the millers, among them Superior Milling in Lusaka, just to prove that it is non-GMO.
Reacting to FDD leader Edith Nawakwi who told Zambians not to buy the mealie-meal produced by ZNS for being GMO, poisonous and dangerous, Gen Solochi said the maize that ZNSis using to make mealie-meal comes from Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
He explained that in Lusaka, ZNS had partnered with Superior Milling and they were also getting their maize from FRA.
“If someone is to go there, you will find even a lot of FRA bags and even their drivers there who we hire. We don’t even use ZNS. You see, we are providing employment. We don’t want to stifle …, we know we have our vehicles but we don’t want to stifle the private sector because the commander in Chief tells us that the private sector must also strive for the little money all of you must share,” Gen Solochi said.
He said the truckers used are there and could be interviewed.
Gen Solochi said Nawakwi should stop politicizing food, especially without facts.
“Please educate our mother, with due respect, I respect her so much. She is a seasoned politician. Let’s not try to politicise food. Especially that we don’t have facts. We don’t want politics ourselves, we are not politicians, ZNS is not for politicians, and ZNS is to provide a service to the Zambians including madam Nawakwi herself. If she came to ZNS even to hire our equipment, we will not refuse on the fact that she is a politician in the opposition no, ZNS provides services to every Zambian,” he said.
Gen Solochi said as long as something was not political and was not making them appear disloyal or to act disloyal to the government of the day, ZNS would do it.
He said on the Copperbelt, there was Nkana Milling, NM Milling and Mass Milling in Chingola.
“So they can be asked. You people where do you get your maize from? We leave the urban area and go to Kasama, the rural area. They can go to Kasama Milling Plant. They can be asked where you get your maize. So all those can be asked,” Gen Solochi said.
He said ZNS was empowering employees in the milling companies they had partnered with because President Hichilema instructed him not to fire anyone as he did not want redundancies.
Gen Solochi said the manager from Kasama Milling was still the same one.
He revealed that Kasama Milling was in liquidation, and ZNS spoke to the FAZ president and was in talks to buy Kasama Milling.
Gen Solochi also said Manufacturers Association of Zambia (MAZ) president Andrew Chintala was aware that ZNS was getting maize from FRA.
“He is well aware and fully informed that where we are getting maize, it is FRA. He even brought another miller to me recently. He is the one who brought Nkana Milling, Andrew Chintala. He is the one who brought HM Milling, Andrew Chintala okay. So these millers who are even with MAZ where are they getting the maize from?” he asked. “So even when MAZ had published … there is something where I read something like MAZ said what what what what …. recently I think the day before yesterday, I was shocked. Because MAZ is aware. He has spoken to me … we joke that guy is my tribal cousin. That guy is my tribal cousin. He is a Lamba man, we joke, we talk so those people who matter, who know things, they know where our maize is coming from.”
He said ZNS could even pay for independent lab tests of the mealie meal at Superior Milling and collect a bag.
“That is why we are standing on terra firma ground and saying that we can even pay for independent lab tests of our mealie meal. They go to Superior Milling there, they get a bag from Superior Milling. Because we are also aware that within this same issue, people are trying to make maneuvers even contacting the mealie meal that we are importing from South Africa. It is true, you know the challenge is this, we have a challenge of smuggling in Congo, we have a challenge of smuggling in Malawi, we have a challenge of smuggling in Tanzania, Burundi, all these countries they are smuggling maize from Zambia so we have pressure,” he said.
Gen Solochi explained that the biggest country where mealie meal was smuggled to was Congo, saying Cabinet had decided which vehicle to use in order to import maize to take to Congo.
He said Cabinet asked Industrial Development Cooperation (IDC), IDC said no it had Superior Milling, which was being sold and ZNS had shown interest.
“So why don’t we give Zambia National Service to be the one, to be the vehicle for importation of this mealie meal … meaning that the maize will enter Kazungula and straight into Kasumbalesa okay. So that maize, rather, mealie-meal no maize in fact just a mealie meal, some of it is GMO,” he said.
