Government has said that there is no justification for millers to increase the price of Mealie meal. Chief Government Spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili has said that the depreciation of the Kwacha has not affected the millers in anyway because the maize they have now was bought last year and at a reduced price.
Mr. Kambwili who is also Information Minister has told ZNBC News in a Telephone interview that there is need for everyone to be responsible and sympathetic to the current economic situation that most countries in Africa are going through.
The Minister has urged the millers to exercise caution and not use the depreciation of the Kwacha to increase the price of Mealie meal.
Millers Association of Zambia President Allan Sakala announced at a media briefing in Lusaka on Sunday that his association has resolved to increase the price of Mealie Meal by 10 and 15 Kwacha on a 25 Kilogram bag effective this week.
Mr. Sakala said that the increment is due to high production costs as a result of load shedding.
Mr.Sakala has also attributed the increase of the country’s staple food to the high demand of maize on the market due to exports.
MAZ urged Government to immediately ban the high exports of maize by private sector as the trend will lead to escalating Mealie Meal prices.
The millers said Government should immediately ban international traders from exporting the commodity because they were buying up all the available maize at inflated prices leaving local millers with virtually no stocks.
Mr Sakala said that the international traders were buying maize at a high price of K1, 950 per tonne or K97.50 per 50 kilogramme bag.
They said the Zambian Government should emulate countries like Zimbabwe which had imposed a ban on importation of mealie meal to protect its local millers against competition from other countries including Zambia.
Government should only allow the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
He said the current situation was not making any economic sense and it was killing the milling industry and the Zambian consumers would bear the consequences.
Mr Sakala said the depreciation of the kwacha was an indication that international traders were buying the Zambian maize at a cheap price against the dollar thereby creating an artificial increase in Mealie Meal prices of between K10 and K15 within Lusaka.
“If exports are not banned, millers will be forced to increase Mealie Meal prices and consumers should brace themselves to pay up to K100 per 25 kg of maize, as MAZ we are advocating for an immediate ban on the issuing of maize exports and only allow FRA to do so,” Mr Sakala said.
Mr Sakala said the international traders were buying all the stocks for exports at inflated prices making an increase in the price of maize of close to 25 percent in just two months of the maize marketing season.
He said in addition to the escalating maize prices, Millers were already burdened by up to 50 percent in loss production due to load shedding and general power outages coupled with the latest proposed increase in ZESCO tariffs slated for November 1 this year.
“These same traders are able to pay up to US$220 per tonne for export and under the current rate that equates to K2, 500 per tonne or K125 per bag,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA) has opposed plans by the Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) to increase the mealie meal prices by about K15 saying it will affect the consumers who are the poor majority Zambians.
ZACA Information and Publicity Officer Juba Sakala said that in the recent past, consumers have continued to suffer price increases making it difficult for them to afford the basic necessities.
Mr. Sakala said that the millers should have looked at the impact this will have on the consumers.
Mr. Sakala said that millers should have considered to dialogue with relevant stakeholders like government over this issues affecting their operations and see how best their challenges can be addressed.
He said that the reason given by the millers of power deficit is not a genuine one as this has been going on for some time now.
Mr. Sakala has since called on government to immediately engage the millers over this move so as not to affect consumers.
We are in serious trouble countrymen and women
I am loving this….. hungry voters always vote wisely
Ifintu nafilungula!
Kambwili you can issues as many statements as you like know one takes you serious anymore. Just a big empty tine making noise.
We warned you
You have failed ba PF , Kwacha has finished and yes the prices have to go up because of the Kwacha . How dull are you monkey ? Next it will be the fuel . Start counting your days bandits ??
I hope people who voted for PF are enjoying now , things are bad in the Copperbelt because of the mines sucking stuff . PF has made history k20 $1 load shedding the whole country, violence for the fast time in Zambia during elections .
Have u seen his hands-na crocodile claws yabako a bit smooth mwee, eishi mudala ni chief n’ganga (ugly), nangu alesaka ba mama Nalumango!!
Anyway jokes aside, on a serious note, I have two brothers and 2 sisters pa zed. On numerous occasion prior to Jan elections, I explained to them as to why they should consider voting for HH and not ba pf. My sisters saw the sense and put their vote on [HH and while the bros kept singing ifintu ni Lungu and voted on trouble lines. As I speak the two boys are out of jobs and crying for financial help every now and then. Call me bad, am more inclined to giving my sisters more than the boys each time I send them something and each time the moan I just remind them that they brought this upon themselves by voting pf. I want them ibanyokole inzala so…
what happened to your Chinese hammer mills ? we told you that in an open economy government interventions do not work….
I have said it before,Zambians should suffer and the whole country should collapse. Hunger, Thievery, disease total kaos is what we need for these voters to learn. Good on the Lozi’s for wanting to separate because there undeveloped state will be a humble piece full place. HH please stop trying to help. Let them suffer. Enough is enough. Infact things should get 10 times worse than the Kaunda revo. More popcorn please. Kekejejejejeje
K100 pin ubunga?? Last time I bought 10 bags at K500pin, just 2 years ago.
Chimbwili is just playing mind games. He is quoted that saying things are bad on the Copperbelt. Bad things include load shedding & electricity tariff hikes. Both add greatly to cost of production. So how does he dismiss the millers’ justification of increased production costs even if the maize is from last season @reduced price? Who is paying for the storage costs if the millers’ got the maize last year? Even if the maize is collected by millers today who has paid for the transport costs?
The mind game I’m talking about is he knows “Akabunga” is too ‘political’ & can cause social unrest. So to try & avoid this he has to fool gullible people. Ask Kaunda December 1986 & June 1990. I was there, were you?
Re-post:
Chimbwili is just playing mind games. He is quoted that saying things are bad on the Copperbelt. Bad things include load shedding & electricity tariff hikes. Both add greatly to cost of production. So how does he dismiss the millers’ justification of increased production costs even if the maize is from last season @reduced price? Who is paying for the storage costs if the millers’ got the maize last year? Even if the maize is collected by millers today who has paid for the transport costs?
The mind game I’m talking about is he knows “Akabunga” is too ‘political’ & can cause social unrest. So to try & avoid this he has to fool gullible people. Ask Kaunda December 1986 & June 1990. I was there, were you?
Dear Kambwili, the true cost is yet to come. The cost of production contributors are yet to joint the party. In few weeks time electricity tariffs and most likely fuel prices will go up, then to true cost of bunga will show up.
Dear Mr Minister your efforts should be a more holistic approach to this issue, find a way to import energy (oil, electricity and others) at reduced price, low govt expenditure to serve the little which is there. Have a systematic export of maize at the best possible price, so you can net the dollar from exporting maize flour. Anyways, you are not a listening govt, so keep going on that path.
Why are these Ministers commenting on this?
Did they not hear his Excellency President Edgar Lungu tell us that everything is under control by his PF Government?
He has said he is in control and has not made any mistakes. Really, do his own Ministers not believe him now?
Just be quiet USELESS Kambwili, every time you open your big mouth you are just making things WORSE!
Not too bad an increament. After prayers due on 18th, it will be all manner from heaven. Within 90 days, the kwacha will be 1: 2
so do we have to pay pastors to pray to God or we call millers and talk,lock yourself in the house for 50 praying no working and eating and see the results
No proper leadership in Zambia. President Lungu has failed. Lungu thought being President was an easy job he started by going on a working holiday in Mfuwe and globetrotting wasting tax payers money now what’s next Mr President. I think Lungu should just resign
so do we have to pay pastors to pray to God or we call millers and talk,lock yourself in the house for 50 days praying no working and eating and see the results
Zambians will now know why kwale has a red mouth,keep praising pf.tiye tiye wala yebo!
This is expected. Everything is just going high. The production costs have increased, these include power, i.e procurement of industrial gen sets, fuel to run the gen sets, depreciation of the kwacha this has caused imports of spare parts to go high, transport costs and soon there will be demand for increased wages. Once this demand starts, expect disputes between unions and employers. The ending will not be good.
This country needs prayers, things going from worse to worsen. How can the price of meal meal be increased. Think about the poor who are struggling even to buy current price.GOD Deriver this country.
@BUPE Edwin. Needs work to be done first and not prayers. That’s why these guys are doing what they want because of attitudes similar to yours. God loves a good worker and not a lazy worker who just prays. You have to meet Him halfway. Get work done then pray all you want.
You need to work bro not prayers.
Kambwili and Chanda are the Chief Bena Bwali in the Shimagater song. Love it, should be the anthem for protest. These guys only think of their stomachs and are calling for Zambians to fast and pray?!? Guys, most Zambians are already fasting involuntarily for a long time now.
Allan Sakala, do not interfere with market forces in a bid to favour your millers. You want a ban on maize exports so that millers make huge profits at the expense of farmers?. Haven’t you been checking the rise in the prices of inputs?. How do you expect farmers to remain in production?. Govt please do not listen to what Sakala is saying. Due to the anticipated El nino, farmers will need huge resources to ensure that they are able to produce food to meet national food security under a challenging climatic and economic environment.
Sakala are you saying ban imports or exports? Also only dull kambwili does not see the link between load shedding and higher costs of production.
It seems the country was living off the eurobond monies that were trickling through to the pipo after PF ministers get their cut from the over inflated prices of building. now those are finished, what will we eat?.
@Patrick. Unfortunately nothing trickles to the people. They are on a permanent fast for which they pray to end. And they are being asked to fast and pray?!?
in march this year,HH said”zambia ,s dark days lay aheard and pf cadres ,kambwili said HH was hallucinating .the rest is history.
BIKE AMBULANCE,which appear on this site ,i propose the following folks hopefully based in usa as your flag depicts.the following names should consider contributing $50 each,some donation is welcome
-nubian princess
-nzelu
Nostradamus
the engineer
my self will pay more and any of the above names can take charge of money and remit it or and buy this guy a better cycling ambulance.note that the above names did comment on the issue.
There is only one solution here – GOOD Leadership NOT these IDI.OTS you voted for!! Some of us are loving this!! You can take ALL the PF Pastors to your prayers on 18 October but REST assured that as long as you have PF:
Load shedding will continue
Prices will be going up
Kwacha will contnue falling in value
Stealing and Corruption will be endmic
We told you BUT you chose to vote with your tribes – so just eat and enjoy what you voted for. When you voted for thieves, DID you think they will leave the money alone!! They borrowed recklesly and STOLE all of the money!! You are now in deep SH.IT everywhere – who are going to blame??
I THINK WE SHOULD FAST AND PRAY SO THAT THE PRICE OF MEALIE MEAL IS REDUCED. WALA DADDY YOU FAST ALONE.
@ xpac
Of course, if you pray, the price of mealie meal will be reduced!!!
Almighty Lord, our God, has established brand new department to subsidies food for the morons and 1mbeciles like you which believe that the pigs can fly and PF can bring prosperity.
CHAGWA IS A PROPHET. HE DECLARED THAT YOU SHOULD PRAY AND FAST ON 18th OCT AND TRUE TO HIS WORD MILLERS HAVE INCREASED THE PRICES OF MEALIE MEAL HAVE GONE UP. WELL DONE OUR ONE AND ONLY CHAGWA( BASHI TASILA). ABENA TASILA BALELYA BWINO KU STATE HOUSE. AND SOME *****S ARE BUSY SUPPORTING WRONG THINGS BY THIS VISIONLESS GOVT. KEEP IT UP.
Didnt HH ask the gov’t to ban the export of maize?
Forget about HH.
Just think how many tons of maize need to be exported to finance “anointed”, “vise” and “humble” leader and his “artiste” entourage pointless trip to USA?
This is not anymore issue of politicking. We are asked to pray and fast when our “leaders” (lol) in power are feasting at our expense.
Thanks to PF for cheap electricity, mealie meal, transport, kwacha performing extreme well, we are just throwing food into bins while other countries are starving. We are really blessed with our current leadership. Lets enjoy our 20th jan 2015 election for choosing our best ever president. Lets the kwacha continues disaccelerating so that we enjoy our fruit of voting such wise political party. VIVA EL 2016 nafuti nafuti
But ba Kambwili chikopo! All prices have gone up and I believe even production costs. Who are you to say “there’s no justification?” Even the issue of loadshedding is affecting everything; either the millers have had to reduce production or use gensets at an extra cost if they had to maintain the same production costs. Just be ready kuyabebele next year!
I meant same production levels…
There is a possibility of social unrest in Zambia. The gap between the rich and poor is getting worse, especially the urban poor. GRZ needs to find money now to placate the poor or things will ignight.
Chief Government Spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili said… “that there is need for everyone to be responsible and sympathetic to the current economic situation…”
EVERYONE? Does that include Edgar Jameson Lungu who has just cost Zambians $ 300.000 for a holiday in America? Or all the DCs that have just got new cars? Or the PF Government that have just made how many new Ministries?
Or are they excluded?
@ Truth teller
What a 5tupid questions are you asking?
You don’t know that our “vise” and “humble” leadership (lol) its “anointed” by Him?
How dare you questioning “visionary” (lol, lol) decision of our own “expert”, “educated” and “allergic to corruption” leaders?
I want to see comment cadres like LUAPULA PREMIER( a fool @ 60). Where are you *****S?
Is Honourable Kambwili the Minister for all ministries in Zambia, he seems to be overstepping into other ministries. Where are the other Cabinet Ministers? Where are the solar powered Milling plants which are meant to help reduce the price of our staple food? With the dwindling employment opportunities, even affording one meal per day will be a huge challenge for many families.
Good news, lets hear you say fintu ni Lungu when you are hungry.
How can a normal human being say there is no justification when the cost of everything including RTSA, Police fees, Electricity etc is going up. Are millers the only people not affected by this melt down being overseen by the PF.
You see this here is the caliber we have for ministers … very thick, dull, ignorant, numbskulled, moronic, brainless, dim witted, daft, doltish, scatterbrained BUFFOON ..he only thinks grain is purchased at that a set price and magically converted to maize meal at no cost at all.
BUFFOON Kambwili’s brain is too small to understand how business operates or production costs, time and time again I have stated like I said on energy it is time to diversify from maize meal….instead of setting up pointless Govt milling plants bought at a high cost from China and meddling with market forces, the utterly lazy lazy bum Edgar should have invested in other alternative diets.
Those solar-powered milling plants are just as good as the “roads to no-where” projects that the government obtains huge loans for, employ Chinese contractors who in-turn use the Bank of China to send the money back to their country. As long as the Zambians involved have had their cut, what do they care? Meanwhile, with all this devaluation, we have to look for more Kwacha to pay off the loans by cutting budgets for Education, Health, Agricultural diversification and so on and so forth. The projects will be white elephants, no use for no one because they will not run efficiently and also due to the fact that politics and business do not make good bed-fellows.
So Kambwili has a factory ? for manufacturing spare parts for milling machines right there in Zambia? If it was that easy, how did the gvt fail to run the provincial milling companies? You also need oil, electricity, skilled labour and transport to take the maize to yhr market.
kikikiki now the fat chipanzee doesnt know what to do. at upnd shouldnt be allowed to rule this cos there will be only plenty of food in the country hahaha wait kambili till the hangry masses manhandle you by your tail and through you in the dry kariba dam. ifintu ni lungu . pray for the millers to reduce the meal meal prize to k25.00 and see if god will answer that one.
I blame that old man Sata for getting Zambia in this mess. Look at the leaders in got into power with his useless party. Now suffer you Zambians kabili ni ” pabwato”
This is very true. This bastard Sata was appointing useless and incompetent !Diots as acting, then they thought being President is easy. Just use public money for medical tourism and give yourself a huge salary.
All our problems started when he was president and he had no idea about how to fix them, so he did nothing and now this clown we have thinks that is how to do the job!
Following Satas vision indeed!
“Mr. Sakala said that the increment is due to high production costs as a result of load shedding.
SO, MILLERS ARE GOING TO REDUCE THE PRICES IF AFTER HAVING GOO RAINS NEXT SEASON?
Mr.Sakala has also attributed the increase of the country’s staple food to the high demand of maize on the market due to exports. MAZ urged Government to immediately ban the high exports of maize by private sector as the trend will lead to escalating Mealie Meal prices.”
THERE’S NO NEED TO BAN MAIZE EXPORTS. THE PRODUCTION OF MAIZE MUST JUST BE DOUBLE OR TREBLED NEXT SEASON.
@ Peter
Can you switch of your pea size brain from “PF” to “logic” and you may discover that production of maize HEAVILY relies on imported inputs, transport and energy cost which in theirs turn NEED to import inputs.
As to production “doubling” or even “tripling” next season, well that is beyond our “vise” and “humble” leaders (lol).
Have you heard about “El Nino” which is always followed by “El Nina”?
Mind you, you can always pray and fast for one day.
At least you my experience the “pleasure” of continuous fasting of the majority of Zambians, where minority (which created this fu*k-up) enjoys daily feasting.
God help those who help themselves , pf guys wake up , its never too late to do the right things
ECL must be fired now! Problems are not solved with the same minds that created them!
Tata bashi Tasila say something that y pipo voted for you stop being quite.
Kambwili, I will try, very hard to be patient with you and explain this to you in the simplest terms possible because like many I have come to realize that you waffle because these issues are simply out of your depth. But boy can you test a body’s patience!
You say these Millard bought their maize last year, say $10.00 per 50 kg bag which then was K50.00
(@ rate then of $1 to K5). Their wholesale price then was $12.00 per 50 kg bag equivalent to K60
Now fast forward 1 year to the present, the millers are saying we are maintaining our wholesale price at $12 per 50kg bag which converted to the local currency is K120, but then they say wait our people may struggle to afford this so we will only go K85.00 will make a loss of K45, but it’s ok, we doing it for our people
In your normal…
Ba PF ,do something.Creating more ministries is not an answer to our problems.STOP this idea of talking about “other countries” Akabunga kena mwalufyanya ukwikatako,ask KK
does this sound like someone who does not have sympathy for the people. Do you know what you and your fellow of goons have done to the country. Hard working, decent , non thieving citizens have painfully watched there savings melt away. Consider a citizen with savings of K1,000,000 in the bank. This was equivalent to $200,000 last year. His money is now worth $100,000 at a stroke of the hat! My question is : How do you sleep at night?
Stroke of the pen, drop of the hat,,, whatever!
The problem we r facing are GLOBAL therefore, there is absolutely nothing Gvt can do…trends are against us…When Global Solves their problems, ours will just flow through…attend prayers even Millers should be invited.
@ Aipepeta
YOU ARE WRONG. They have failed. Let them resign. There was life after KK. There was life after Chiluba, or RB. There will be life after ECL or PF.
@Aipepeta. Surely the solution to our problrms cannot be to wait for “…. When Global solves their problems, ours will just flow through….”! That is rubbish! We must exert our minds to address and solve our problems in the context of this global downturn. The govt has been advised to cut down on expediture (by BOZ). Lungu has created 5 more ministries & has started hiring private Jets (Planes)! He has made 18 trips abroad since he came into office! That does not look like soemone who wants to make the hard decisions and solve this present crisis! Maybe he should step aside?
Comment: Lazy people will always suffer. I give credit to wheelbarrow pushers coz they don’t wait to be fed.
Mr President, Kambwili makes your government look like a circus. Change your doorstep.
No I don’t agree.He deserves to go down with the fat!diot.Everyone can see that Kambwili is a liability but Lungu has adamantly stuck with him.So he deserves to go down with his !diot.
WHAT A USELESS GOVERNMENT! WHY SHOULD EDGAR LUNGU CONTINUE TO EARN THE TITLE OF PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA WHEN HE HE HAS LAMENTABLY FAILED TO SOLVE THE COUNTRY’S PROBLEMS? LUNGU IS A SERIOUS MISPLACEMENT BY THE ZAMBIAN PEOPLE.
Yes, you are right.
He is just a sorry excuse for a President. A REAL President would hold a PRESS CONFERENCE but this shameful coward is too afraid to face the Nation.
People don’t change when they see the light, they change when they feel the heat! We don’t have to complain every time prices go up. This is inevitable because the cost of production has gone up due to load shedding and depreciation of Kwacha. I am going to empower my family in the village to grow more maize so that I stop buying mealie meal. This is a time to work not time to whine and grind.
Let’s get down to work!
You bitter up and downs what are you yapping about ?
What other resources go into mealie meal production ba Kambwili? You think other costs of milling haven’t gone up? With the load shedding as well. I really wish this man thought things through before opening his mouth.
ZESCO tariffs will be going up so how can millers not put up prices. One of the bloggers is saying, “think of the poor.” Isn’t it the poor who voted in Lungu? Ifintu ni Lungu. Yes ifintu ni Lungu!
This is what Kambwili actually said, ‘Your house was built before inflation rate moved to current levels so, there is no justification for you to increase rent!
THE MOST DISAPPOINTING FACT IS NOT THE STATE OF OUR COUNTRY AND ECONOMY. ITS THE FACT THAT EVEN FACED WITH UNDENIABLE EVIDENCE WE STILL HAVE POLITICAL ZEALOTS THAT WILL SUPPORT THE PF AND DEFEND THEIR DISMAL PERFORMANCE. NOW CBU IS IN TROUBLE AGAIN AND THE PRICE OF MEALIE MEAL IS GOING UP!!!! IFINTU NI LUNGU? OKAY!!! LETS SEE HOW FAR DOWN THE ROAD OF POVERTY HE WILL DRIVE US ALL. MEANHILE LUNGU IS SPENDING MONEY ON PLANES TO GO GALAVANTING. I HOPE ALL THOSE WHO VOTED FOR LUNGU ARE NOW PROUD OF THEMSELVES. INFINTU TAFILI BWINO. ELO MWALA DANCER LUNGU TUNE. YOU ALL HAD A CHOICE AND THIS IS WHAT. MEALIE MEAL PRICE INCREASES, LOAD SHEDDING AND POMPOUS ADVISER GOING AROUND SHOOTING PEOPLE AND ICEING ON THE CAKE IS KAMBWILI LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO HIS BANK. KAMBWILI AND THE REST OF CABINET ARE…
Anyone in business and has a brain will understand that all prices of commodities in Zambia will keep on going up. If I sell my old stock at old prices how then will I be able to buy new stock when it has gone up in price? I can’t because I will not have enough money. So the millers have no choice but to increase the prices. Ifintu ni Lungu!
Air France executives were forced to flee with their clothes in tatters after workers stormed a meeting at Charles de Gaulle airport in protest at 2,900 planned job cuts.
Human resources chief Xavier Broseta and Pierre Plissonnier, head of long-haul flights, scaled an eight-foot fence to escape, aided by security guards. Broseta emerged shirtless and Plissonnier had his suit ripped to shreds.
Security officers escort Air France’s Pierre Plissonnier away, after employees invaded Air France offices.
Security officers escort Air France’s Pierre Plissonnier away, after employees invaded Air France offices. Photographer: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images
Violence erupted Monday as Air France told its works council that 300 pilots, 900 flight attendants and 1,700 ground staff might…
Maybe we should follow this example with Lungu and his useless PF Government!
THAT’S WHY NEVERS MUMBA SAYS BA PF FIKOPO. YOU MEAN YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE MILLERS SHOULD INCREASE MEALIE MEAL?
AWE MWE!!!!!