By Staff Reporter
Former Finance minister Ng’andu Magande says he doesn’t understand why the country is importing mealie meal, wondering if “someone” is saying that government has failed to control smuggling by going that route.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Magande said also said he would not even encourage the country to start growing winter maize, as the late Levy Mwanawasa he served under did, explaining that the country at that time had a shortfall of maize and the international people who offered to help offered the GMO maize which was not acceptable, hence the decision to go for winter maize.
He said this time around the country has maize which the FRA can mop up around the countryside.
“So why are we importing maize? Why are we importing mealie meal? Mealie meal is from maize. And we have maize. So why should we import mealie meal? I don’t understand what exactly is going. We have the maize grown by our own farmers, wo why can’t we continuously eat our own maize?” Magande asked.
Agriculture minister Mtolo Phiri said the government was encouraging imports to cushion on the demand and as a way of curbing smuggling.
However, Magande said: “But smuggling is illegal. So is someone saying that the government has failed to control people who are breaking the law? Smuggling is an offence. So why not stop it?”
He said if mealie meal is expensive in some places, it was wise to look for it in other places where it was a little cheaper, saying millers were selling the commodity at their own prices, and therefore it should be left to the market forces.
“Some people don’t even eat maize. Have you seen the teams of people who are milling the maize? Did you see the group which went to State House? Most of those people don’t eat mealie meal. So how can you control people who don’t even eat the product that they produce? If you control them they stop. So who will suffer? It’s the people who eat mealie meal. So there is nothing you can do,” Magande said. “You leave it to the market forces. If anybody breaks the law like those whi are smuggling, apply the law. Take them to court and you lock them up. Once you lock them up, once you lock one of them that will be the end of the smuggling. Those people are not more than 100. So how can the government fail to control less than 100 people out of 19 million?”
Magande cautioned against using maize as the staple food for everyone, saying for instance the people in Luapula where the commodity was introduced in 1968 may not be of the same view as himself who comes from a maize growing area.
“That’s why perhaps they say this product is for business. They take it across. It’s not staple for them,” said Magande.
