| By ROGERS KALERO |
MTOLO Phiri, the Agriculture Minister should resign on moral grounds for allegedly mismanaging the country’s strategic food reserves thereby plunging the country into a food crisis, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) has said.
Eugene Mulenga, national coordinator for Sustainable Resource Empowerment Initiative (SuNREI) said Zambia was in a food crisis because Mr Phiri has failed to manage the country’s strategic food reserves when he allowed the export of the maize grain to neighbouring countries.
Mr Mulenga said in a statement that instead of being defensive and being economical with the truth, Mr Mtolo should accept that he had mismanaged the country’s strategic food reserves leading to government being compelled to import the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) maize and mealie meal.
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“The fact of the matter is that we are in a food crisis in Zambia and there is no need for the Minister of Agriculture to be economical with the truth. He has to accept that he has mismanaged our strategic food reserves and this is why he has allowed the importation of GMO maize and mealie meal which are meant for animals.”
“This calls for Mr Mtolo Phiri to resign on moral grounds because of his lack of leadership. His appetite for money has caused this. How do you come in and allow people to start exporting the maize which you did not grow?” Mr Mulenga said.
Mr Mulenga said, instead of building capacity in local farmers to help them increase productivity, the Minister of Agriculture started selling what he had found in the reserves.
He said there was a crisis in Zambia which would inflict more pain on the majority Zambians who depend on mealie meal as a staple food.
“The crisis will inflict more pain on Zambians because the price of alternative foods like rice, bread and potatoes will also go up due to the increasing demand. Government must take necessary steps to arrest the situation,” Mr Mulenga said.
And Patriotic Front (PF) Copperbelt media director Munalula Moola has said the UPND government was not only an incompetent government, but an embarrassment to those who had hope and confidence that it will alleviate poverty, promote food security and improve people’s lives in the country.
Mr Moola said the UPND and its leadership should sit down and find solutions to the problems and challenges the country was facing as opposed to engaging in political violence and using the police to persecute political rivals.
“The political violence being perpetrated by the UPND cadres in these local government by-elections will not help them in any way. If anything, it will only serve to agitate Zambians. You don’t use violence to hold on to power. No. You deliver on the needs of the people to get their support, not shedding people’s blood.”
“People are lining up for mealie meal, there is a persistent shortage of drugs in hospitals, the mining and agriculture sector continues are in disarray, but the ruling party is busy witch-hunting and persecuting people. Why?”
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