By ROGERS KALERO
SOME millers on the Copperbelt have hinted that they may be forced to get rid of their workers because government’s decision to allow farmers to sell maize to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will adversely affect their business. The emotionally charged millers have also said that they will soon stop buying maize from the local farmers so that they can go and sell it to the DRC because that was what the 2022 national budget had stated. A visit to a number of milling plants on the Copperbelt found long queues of trucks laden with maize waiting to be sold to millers, with some farmers spending a day or two in order to have their produce taken off their hands. The millers who spoke on grounds of anonymity, said government’s decision to allow farmers to sell their maize to the DRC will adversely affect their business because Congolese will now prefer to buy maize than mealie meal. “Now that government has allowed farmers to sell maize to the DRC, very few Congolese will be buying mealie meal and this means our business will be affected. So we will not be producing a lot of mealie meal. “So if we are not producing a lot of mealie meal, then we will not require a lot of workers. So the whole thing is we will lose out on income and our market will be affected. So like myself, I will retrench about 80 workers following this decision by government,” said one Copperbelt miller. The millers also said they will now stop buying the maize from traders so that they can start preparing themselves to transport their produce to the DRC. “Actually, for me, I will tell these farmers who have lined up that will no longer buy their maize and so they should go and sell it at Kasumbalesa border post. We are just reacting to what the budget has said,” said.
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