The Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) has threatened to black list traders who are charging exorbitant mealie meal prices.
MAZ chairperson, Caleb Mulenga, says his organisation is charging between 40 and 44 thousand kwacha for a 25 kilogramme bag of roller meal.
And a 25 kilogramme bag of breakfast meal is being sold between 50 and 52 thousand kwacha.
In a statement to znbc news Mr Mulenga said that traders are recommended to add not more than five thousand kwacha per bag within the radius of 5 kilometers from the mill.
He urged consumers to purchase mealie meal from recognised outlets and MAZ registered outlets to avoid being exploited.
Some retail outlets have been selling mealie meal at as high as 60 and 75 thousand kwacha for roller meal and breakfast mealie meal.
Meanwhile, more than 20,000 households on Chilubi Island in Nothern Province are in dire need of relief food.
Chilubi Member of Parliament, Obious Chisala, told ZNBC news in a telephone interview that most residents have run out of food.
Mr. Chisala said the affected residents had their crops washed away by floods during the last rainy season.
He appealed to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit to quickly dispatch relief food to the area.
And Mr. Chisala said traders have taken advantage of the food shortage and hiked the prices of cassava meal and maize by over one hundred per cent.
He said a gallon of maize is now going at K7,500 from K3,000 while the same quantity of cassava meal is costing K5,500 Kwacha from K2,000.
[ZNBC]
Who is going to charge who? Pantu this mealie meal is sold by these ministers?
OK twannaka na isssue ya bunga manje!!!
Just black list them now because there is no justification on why they increase the price of mealie meal.And why RB is not intervening people are exploited at an expense of him taking off power
Blacklisted? my foot! who are they fulling? Twanaka nafyo chachine
Please put partisan politics aside and analyze things sensibly. One minister has a milling company somewhere very remote how can he influence the price in Lusaka. Its obvious what is happening, GBM one of the guys who really wanted PF to win owns a big milling company and is in a position to influence others because they want to pressure the new president.These people dont care about the customers all they want is to topple the govt so they can have a favourable govt in place to make more money. Just like the post there actions are rooted not in principle but by sheer greed. In Africa you fight fire with fire and now is the time for Rupiah to show if he has the stomach for a fight by being
contd from #5…merciless with some politically oriented traders who care more for there own pocket than the poor guy they are making pay 20pin extra for a bag just for the sake of political expediency.
TETAMASHIMBA will be the first to be BLACKLISTED!!! with his milling vibe in Mansa.
start with mansa milling,then black list teta from the political scene as well
The only problem is that the price has gone up higher just after elections otherwise all previous years around this time mealie meal prices have always gone up until say the next harvest time for them to reduce to to market forces. Unless we quickly import and offload maize on the market the price will continue increasing. Again importing will disadvantage the farmers who normally plan to make an extra profit during this period. Remember that former CEO Lady of the Food Reserve Agency was fired for trying to release extra strategic maize on the market at about this same time.
The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
waitaya
Who is going to blacklist Teta? Teta is a member of the millers association of Zambia and they are the ones who are going to blacklist traders. Besides we know that most traders are PF
put politics out of this …..who told you its only Teta who has a mill….. think propery men. think as planners….an not imbacies…grow up
te mulandu twalatabawilamo your car cause this is what you voted fuuu/.
This is bull….? What blacklisting? What is happening to free market economy,demand & supply? The Govt is inept period.
Problem anyandule anapakisa mu boma
What do they mean by ”blacklisting”,i thought we have a Trading Standards Authority in Zambia,isn’t it their job to protect consumers by regulating rogue traders,those traders should lose their licenses to trade if they can’t follow rules.People are unnecessarily starving,they would not if the govt pulls up its socks by having the relevant bodies monitoring such issues instead of having them staying dormant whilst still being paid.
Fuseke kagoneni manje kwasila
Abena, even in a free market economy we must watch out for tendencies that tend to usurp the power of competition to regulate the markets. Thats why most of the advanced capitalist economies come properly fitted with anti-trust and anti-monopoly regulation. Ask Microsoft, IBM etc they will tell you how Govt. chopped them down once they started bullying the market. Its the same here. There is no way that just after election mealie-meal prices suddenly shoot up in the face of lower fuel price and constant source price for maize.Its obvious some people are trying to destabilize the nation. RB dont just sit this is time to go into the trenches and fight these chaps. Nsima siyo sebelelako!!
eat gaga then!! Just eat with chicken!
Duplicate comment detected; it looks as though you’ve already said that!
This comment sucks. They dont put you comment, you dont insult but ba LT put uthis without even publishing your mail. This sucks.
Duplicate comment detected; it looks as though you’ve already said that!
This relly sucks and anoys. ba LT dont put up your comment, you contribute because you patriotic, you dont insult but they put this up without even showing your mail!! This really sucks.
Remove politics frm ths and ask ur selves why FRA is nt intervening by offloading the maize stock tht they hav in th reserves..if at all they hav the reserves..u dnt xpect millerz to sale it cheaply wen the maize is scarce and xpensive at ths time of the year..
Blacklist what, ifya bupuba! it’s a liberal economy where market forces are at play. If a trader feels is gonna break even quickly at K75,000 per 25kg bag of mealie meal so be it, period. It’s the gvt that has now lost control of the economy. We need the input of “magandenomics” in this area and very soon!
Kwane zambians we are useless, we have failed to act? See waht Kenya did when Kibaki rigged the elections>
Government ! YaMa EXEH !!!!!!!!!! WAT CAN U TELL US !!!!!!
economic liberation, any one can charge what they want as long as they have someone buying their wares.
liberalisation*
golyati chinshi pf acita. go buy ubunga it seems nabukushupa. kapamela yazanda. wona pf is a factor in economy.
Where the h$%@ is the Govt and why is it not acting over this issue??????We are talking life and death here. Surely, shud people become violent before action can be taken????? This is what we were talking about last week (Priorities). Govt was quick to reduce the VISA fees in order to attract tourists……
Instead of blacklisting, can you just import maize.
And in the next farming season, subsidize the crop damn-it.
Also, time for diversification of food. Why maize maize all the time. How about rice. Eat some rice for a change.
THE ISSUE IS SO SIMPLE. THE ONLY WAY THE HIGH PRICE OF MEALIE MEAL CAN BE SOLVED (OR EVEN COMPLETELY WIPED OFF) IS BY RUPIA BANDA CONTINUING TO HANDOUT MEALIE MEAL TO THE CITIZENS AS HE DID B4 ELECTION. THIS WAY PEOPLE WILL HAVE MEALIE MEAL IN THEIR HOMES SUCH THAT THERE WILL BE NO NEED TO GO AND BUY IT AT THOSE PRICES. MILLERS WILL ALSO STOP CHARGING AND JUMP ON THE BAND WAGON OF SUGAR DADDIES. THE DIFFERENCE AND GOODNESS THIS TIME WILL BE THAT IT ISN’T ELECTION PERIOD THERE4 HANDOUTS WILL BE FOREVER. AT LEAST UP TO 2011. RB HIMSELF NEEDS TO BE IN THE 4FRONT AS HE IS A SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE. RB JUMP AROUND AND DO SOME WORK.
TODAY-WE HAVE HEADACHES TALKING ABOUT MEALIE MEAL—WHY IS IT SO?
**SELFISH ATTITUDES BY THE SO CALLED GOVT,HIKED THE PRICES OF MEALIE MEAL TO EARN VOTES,DO IT NOW SOLVE THIS PROBLEM RB AND YOUR TEAM THAT IS WHY YOU ARE THERE–ZAMBIA IS FOR US ALL NOT ONLY YOU PEOPLE IN GOVT.IT IS SAD THAT YOU THE GOVT IS SO UNCARING–YOU PROMISE PEOPLE AND RUN AWAY.I GUESS I SHOULD SPEAK LIKE #31-CONTINUE MEALIE MEAL AND SUGAR DADDING ZAMBIANS THEN THE PROBLEM WILL BE OVER.TRUSTING YOU RB AND YOUR TEAM AS AT NOW IS QUESTIONABLE.
REMEBER–I’AM NOT AFFILIATED TO ANY POLITICAL PARTY.GOD BLESS ZAMBIA–LONG LIVE FELLOW BELOVED ZAMBIANS–ZIKO NIYATU
CONT..REFERENCE TO COMMENT #32–SORRY I MEAN HIKING PURCHASE PRICE OF MAIZE TO EARN VOTES
RB and MMD officials and ministers are the buisnessmen of zambia. This is merely propaganda.
Chi bwezani cilebwesha Visa fee instead of mealie meal. useless muntu.
#22 There is no shortage of maize on the market so the FRA cannot come into the equation,it is the rogue traders & probably political forces that tried to sabbotage the economy prior to elections but i believe this is only temporal,now that things are stable politically,the govt needs to act fast before the price goes so high as it is known that when it comes to reducing it,their won’t be much difference as the traders will only reduce by a small margin which will still be over what they are supposed to be charging now.
“Mulansekesha iyee”.I thought people knew what they meant when they said Zambia’s was a free market or liberalised economy.Just swallow your pride and announce that you are marvelling KK- getting back to his State Controlled Economy.
2008 Presidential ECZ elections results as posted on website:
CONSTITUENCY CANDIDATE PARTY VOTES % % Rejected Rejected Total
108 MWINILUNGA EAST
HICHILEMA HAKAINDE UPND 8372 57 29.5
BANDA RUPIAH B MMD 5785 39 20.38
MIYANDA GODFREY K HERITAGE 199 1 0.7
SATA MICHAEL C PF 185 1 0.65
come with me to the next posting!
Bear in mind that the voting pattern in #98 is that from Northwestern Province where people voted on a non-tribal manner.
Analysis:
1. UPND President Hakainde Hichilema was clearly the best candidate
2. Zambian President RB Banda was the next best because the MMD has party structures there and new mines gave people jobs.
3. HP Leader Miyanda was a fairly good alternative to president HH
4. Undereducated unelected PF Self-apponted Leader … was the worst candidate to consider for Zambian President.
This is proper voting without tribal lines or affiliations taking into consideration some comments by most Bemba Zambians that Tongas in Southern Province vote on tribal lines instead of intellectu.
“What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know, its what we know for sure; that just ain’t so” by Mark Twain.
Ndaakoona lino.
“Cost of living gets so high, rich and poor they start to cry
Now the weak must get strong, they say Oh! What a tribulation..”
Words of the prophet
Why do we have these perpetual problems of hunger in our dear Chilubi island? I would like to know what can and cant be done to either eracdicate it or else mitigate its effects. If it is a man made problem it can be tackled accordingly by asking ourselves questions; who is responsible? What are the cultural values of the people in the area, any persons or ministry responsible for the mess? If it is a natural cause questions still abound; what can we do to either mitigate the impact, or still cant we vacate the island for more productive areas? Doesnt this sound like more proactive thinking? …..cont’d
cont’d…..I say this because I believe Chilubi island has more or similar socio-economic characteristics as say Samfya and largely Mansa and yet these places are fairly well off. For instance Mansa, Samfya Chilubi, use nothing more than a hole for cultivating teire cassava plots, they use sometimes the same baskets for fish to carry the cassava. If its market imperfections, still the problems can be offset by availing more information on commodities (which in this case wont be very different from fish and cassava). Could somebody do some study and advise policy on that?
do not start threatening traders,just act if yu can yu MAZ.GRZ is also unnecessarily quiet on the issue,MAZ has given out recommended retail prices yet ordinary citizens are being exploited and the GRZ is watching ndwiiiiiii!freedom is relative,absolute freedom can bring “entropy” or rather confusion.give traders 2days to sell commodities at recommended prices or have their trading linceses revolved.bad as it may appear in a free economy,desperate condions call fo desperate measures.remember over 60% of our pipo live on less than 2USD/day,come on this is a nation crisis where GRZ has to act decisively,ba RB give us an update,pipo are starving!!
Can some one tell me why Father Bwalya from Radio Chiangelo has been arrested for condeming the electro process This is a sad developemnet Shame on them what kind of government is this
GBM WANYA!
People is Mugungulu.H. mwaanga a sensible person? what do you think? I will judge him later
NYIMBA MMD member of parliament Forrie Tembo yesterday disclosed that Mbilisao Basic School in Chief Lwembe’s area has been closed due to the hunger situation in the area.
In an interview, Tembo said the school was closed in September because the children had abandoned classes due to hunger.
“The hunger situation in Mbilisao and Chikwasha areas is bad. I was there during the campaigns. As you know these areas are far from Nyimba and you have to first pass through Lusaka and Mkushi to reach there. Parents are busy looking for food,” Tembo said.
He said the school would be opened as soon as the hunger situation was sorted out.
“The other reason why the school has been closed is that the
Everybody should just go to the streets and do like in 1986 and gvt will act after all it is their poor policy on agriculture that has caused all this balaklisting what?
NYIMBA residents are now wondering why Nyama Soya stopped giving them free M/M. AKUDYA EKA DADDY manje.
This is economic sabotage at it’s best by PF jokers! We have a free market in Zed but the collusion involving these unscroupolous cartels should be discouraged at all costs. Where are the consumer protection bodies when you need them most! If mealie meal prices were rising due to supply & demand forces, that would be another story, but this is clearly disgruntled jokers (like GBM) trying to be silly! This is our staple food & we should’nt allow these criminals to hold us at ransom!
Fellow Zambians lets wake up before it is too late. It does not make sense to me,the same people(from rural areas) who vote(???) for MMD are the ones suffering now. They have no food,roads etc.What makes them vote for the party which does not provide them with the basic needs? Are they really voting for MMD?
The point is,our Elections are flawed.What gaurantee do we have that the 2011 Elections will be free and fair? I see a situation were it will be very difficult for any party to win an Election(Presidential) in Zambia.Sata may not be the best candidate but we should ask ourselves in all honest how he lost the previous elections.What are we going to if they do the same to HH in 2011?
U reap what U sow. MMD U cheated people with price slash now U gonna pay for this.
We have a no agenda president. What a country. Look at Obama. Fast into action.
If they could reduce fuel prices things would change to such a degree that they never imagined. We should be spending k4000 per litre right now. DOn’t even know if they bought crude or just waiting for it to be in the hundreds. Warnings are all over that prices of crude will rise.
Ndani apika nsima lelo?? Ni banda!!!!manje azapika bwanji na mutengo wa mealie meal.Relevant authorities pliz do something before we die of hunger
#23. M’ponda Matiki and the other guys who have spoken on liberalisation. i do agree very much we no longer have a price controling board as this is the consequences of a liberalized economy.A free market economy it seems the MMD dont understand it.You cant force people to sell things at prices the government wants.If they do so it will be also tarnishing the name of our country as it will drop on its number postion its on on free market.People will be scared to invest in Zambia.Rb is caught up he doesnt know what to do as there is no money and he has reduced prices already in other sectors now he wants cover up.
Black listing is not possible because if they do so people will die of hunger
Zambia needs the millers by black listing it will be reducing money for taxes to government as thats Zambia stepple food.Even the millers no that.The government know it would be the one losing out also and especially during this global melt down who will rsk doing that.As all if not most of the millers prices for mealie meal have been raised.Even Rb know there is nothing he can do only negotiating with the millers.Shortage of the commodity would only bring confusion in the country.And by so doing making PF even more popular.And people wil end up saying sembe tinavotela a Sata.
This is the free market people were crying for in 1991, I don’t see what all the fuss is about.
The days of state intervention walked out of the door with Kaunda and UNIP; if the market dictates that price of a 25kg roller meal is K100,000 then that is the price.
If you don’t like it grown your own maize.
VIVA THE FREE MARKET ECONOMY
ABASH ALL THE COMMUNISTS CALLING FOR THE GOVT TO INTERVENE