IT is clear that government needs to make a decision how it is going to stabilize or lower the price of mealie meal. The message from the people is loud and clear.
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A few days ago, the President was greeted with shouts of unga, unga and some Lusaka residents showing him small repacks of mealie meal also known as Pamela. This was when President Hakainde Hichilema toured some Lusaka townships to touch base with the common man.
Even as the President tried to address the people, the only message they wanted him to hear was on mealie meal and hunger. He did his best to make assurances.
Chants of `Zambia’ were met with answers of `njala’ or hunger because this is what people truly want government to address.
Mealie meal is Zambia’s national staple food and something that every household, except for the very rich, indulges in on a daily basis.
Whether we want to admit it or not, facts remain that mealie meal should never be toyed with. The people who rely on this commodity do not appreciate unstable mealie meal prices or the scarcity of the commodity experienced in the recent past.
If there is one product whose pricing should be stable, it is the mealie meal. If anything, the majority of Zambians would prefer that the price of mealie meal was ever moving downwards and never upwards.
It is probably because of this that government announced that it had formed a task force on high cost of mealie meal.
Surprisingly, the Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) has questioned the rationale behind the setting up of a task force on mealie meal, saying there are economic dynamics, which are neither social nor political, driving mealie meal prices.
In responding to a query on the formation of a task force on mealie meal by government, MAZ president Andrew Chintala said: “We do not require a task force because what is happening is an economic activity and not a social or political activity. Hence this makes it unnecessary to have a task force (on mealie meal).”
Mr. Chintala said there was need to appreciate the dynamics of the industry that were affecting mealie meal pricing; ranging from the cost of inputs, to the cost at which the maize was being procured, and also the cost of processing and value addition.
The task force comprises the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Agriculture Reuben Mtolo- Phiri and Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Chipoka Mulenga.
The members of this task force are well versed with what happens in the agriculture sector and therefore we don’t know what explanations they will be seeking and from people on the high cost of living.
Our understanding is that the high cost of mealie meal starts with the planning stages of any farming marketing season.
The delays associated with the bid process, which has in the recent past been coupled with cancellations and re-advertising, play a big part in what happens later. The single-sourcing of fertilizer suppliers should seriously be frowned upon to stop exacerbating the cost of producing maize. Let competitive bidding be the norm so that affordable fertilizer can be supplied to the farmers.
We are aware that one fertiliser company has pledged to supply slightly cheaper priced fertilizer in a bid to support farmers.
The fact that this is coming from a local company, is commendable.
However, more needs to be done to ensure that this same cheap fertilizer reaches all parts of the country.
It is important that the small scale farmers benefit from this because they form a large of the farming community contributing to food security.
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