GOVERNMENT has summoned millers to justify why they have gone ahead to increase the price of mealie-meal despite an assurance that they would not.
Minister of Agriculture Given Lubinda said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that although Government would not dictate the price of mealie-meal, millers should justify why they have gone ahead to increase the price of the commodity before discussing the proposal.
“I have summoned millers to my office and we are having a meeting tomorrow [today] so that they can explain why they have gone ahead to increase the price of mealie-meal.
“We have indicated that Government will not dictate the price of mealie-meal because it is running a liberal economy, but we want the millers to explain why they have increased the price of the commodity before giving satisfactory reasons,” Mr Lubinda said.
He said Government is not satisfied with the reasons that the millers have given to increase the price of mealie-meal because they are not genuine.
Meanwhile, Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) president Allan Sakala said millers would only issue a comprehensive statement after meeting Government today.
And a Zambia Daily Mail survey conducted yesterday revealed that the price of mealie-meal has been increased by between K10 and K15 per 25-kilogramme bag of breakfast meal.
A check at Lusaka’s Chilulu market revealed that a 25kg breakfast meal of Simba and Star Milling is pegged at K85 while a bag of roller meal costs K65.
At Shoprite in Lusaka’s Chilenje township, a 25kg bag of National Milling breakfast meal is K72 while at Pick ‘n’ Pay in Woodlands, a 25 kg bag of Star breakfast meal is pegged at K79.
At Melisa Supermarket in Kabulonga a 25 kilogramme bag of Pembe breakfast mealie-meal was fetching K80 while Superior milling was pegged at K75.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda has warned milling companies against exploiting Zambians through unjustified increases in mealie meal prices.
Speaking during the Deloitte Budget Breakfast in Lusaka, Mr. Chikwanda also said the 2016 National Budget was not easy to put together owing to conflicts between available resources and required expenditure.
He said government has pegged its expenditure at 53 billion kwacha against available revenue of 42 billion Kwacha.
Mr. Chikwanda stated that government will borrow more externally than internally to finance the gap.
He is also concerned that Zambia has remained an expensive tourist destination which has affected growth of the sector.
Mr. Chikwanda said government has focused on tourism as one of the sectors targeted for diversification of the economy.
And Delloite Chief Executive Officer Chisanga Chungu has observed that factors leading to the current economic challenges including a slump in copper prices and power outages are likely to continue in the short term.
And an economist from South African Kay Walsh has observed that copper prices have between 2014 and 2016 registered a 25 percent decrease.
Ms. Walsh said this coupled with low water levels in the Kariba dam which has affected hydro electricity generation have led to government revising its Gross Domestic Product -GDP- focus for 2015 from 7 percent to 5 percent.
Now Given Lubinda has a tammy like Liato. Akulileni Bane!
But President Kambwili promised Zambians that mealie meal prices would not increase based on information his technocrats on the ground had fed him
You already have the answers why the Millers have increased the Mealie Meal. It is because South Africa, Botswana, China the USA have also increased their mealie meal. Who is Zambia not to follow suit?
Dear Lubinda, stop patronizing Zambians, look at the price of sugar and cooking oil. In the last few weeks these two commodities have had their prices increase between 60 and 100%. Please do talk to the manufacturers of sugar and cooking oil too. The truth of the matter you have failed to address the key economic fundamentals which are within your control. Some of the economic issues which needs to be addressed are reducing expenditure on your govts part. Just look at the suit you are dressed in, it shows that you are at your a game economically.
Well Lubinda go ahead and intimidate the millers and see what their reaction will be. I bet you; Millers will now either react by reducing productivity and lay off workers or create artificial shortages.
PF ni ba chimbwi no plan. They threatened the mines to reduce the use of power and not to lay off workers despite low priductivity due to load shedding. Reality is that minning companies reacted by ignoring PF ‘s directive and went ahead to lay off workers because without productivity excess workers are not needed. Its simple economics which PF does not understand.
Only UPND will save Zambia from this PF created calamity.
Given must have money stashed in concrete structure and his farm. ACC needs to investigate and dig the loot out. People with tummies do weird things. Remember Sata did not like fat people. Sata must have had a reason for not liking fat people and he had a point. Fat people, in the first place, hide things in their tummies but they also hide money in strange places. is ACC has any relevance they should investigate Given Lubinda if Zambia is to be saved.
Its good HH was not declared a winner despite strong belief among many that he had won the bye-election.
The buoyant economy inherited from RB’s MMD was already rotten under the dictator Sata when Lungu was sworn in. The Dictator claimed vast experience as Governor, Minister Local Gov, Health & without Portifolio but yet he lamentably failed when given all the powers. Even HH wud not do much in this short period unless given a full term. Of course he cud hav performed better than ECL. ECL has no direction & we hav no hope.
By my analysis of the current economic situation had HH been declared winner I can pretty predict wide spread riots on the CB & Lusaka over m/meal price increase simply cos of tribal hate.
So, if God permits, I wud love HH to rule by starting a full term. This is a…
So, if God permits, I wud love HH to rule by starting a full term. This is a PF term & ECL has no excuse since he claims having government experience as Deputy Minister Veep, Minister Home affairs & Justice by the time the dictator died. It was just a matter of continuation of the ‘Great Vision’ of the late dictator.
BA PF DO YOU SEE NOW?!! ELO ABANTU BALA PENGA NOMBA!!!! FILI EKO TULEYA!!!!
Bo lubinda my father’s cousin! You mean you don’t know why mealie meal price has gone up? maybe you don’t live in lungu’s Zambia
PF should leave millers and farmers (collectively known as bakachema to PF) alone. PF runs govt for bakaponya and Eurobond thieves. They should let bakachema to price their goods as they want.
Someone help me are millers under Agriculture or Trade and Industry.Just like butcheries someone would not say they are under Min of Agriculture so how does Lubinda summon millers.Do we really know what we are doing?
Chikwanda, why cant Zambia work with the money available? Do we have to borrow more money? This is why we’re wallowing in poverty. Please ba Chikwanda taphaphata, just retire now. mwalatwipaya na ma nkongole…
Pf are a bortowing party by nature
Government should just negotiate with one Miller or two. Only those should receive fra maize. Stop giving every milling plant maize. Since its a cartel to make pf unpopular. It’s being evil to change prices when the cost of production is the same. This is tantamount to subbotage
This is price fixing. You can only do this kind of nonsense in zambia. Whatever is being done. We as Zambians are watching. No one will come to power through blackmail. Whoever wants to rule this country should have a heart for Zambians. If you think comming up with cartels will land to state house. Watch 2016.
Government needs their own milling companies in the end to avoid these problems. It only takes 30 to 40 days for a container to arrive from China. Just buy huge industrial milling companies and shut up all these tuntembas through competition.
Can you imagine Government “managing” (LOL) milling companies?
Be serious. They cannot even organize drinking party inside the brewery.
again…. there’s that word – diversification — if the entire country didn’t rely on one core food there wouldn’t be this issue. Zambians believe the only food worth eating is nsima – it is time to get away from this stigmatism. Not only does nsima have very little nutritional value, raising maize every year is hard on the soil (thus the need for so much fertilizer). We should easily be producing potatoes, rice, and wheat products (macaroni, pasta, and cereals) to offset any destabilization in any one food group. Diversification = stabilization.
You are spot on…its the same thing over and over again!!
DO YOU THINK PEOPLE ARE NOT EATING POTATOES AND RICE IN ZAMBIA? WHETHER THOSE ALTERNATIVE STARCHES ARE ABUNDANTLY AVAILEBLE IN OUR COUNTRY OR NOT, MAIZE WILL FOR EVER REMAIN OUR STAPLE FOOD IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, AND AFRICA IN GENERAL. SO MY BROTHER, THAT WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. GOOD GOVERNANCE, GOOD POLICIES IS WHAT CAN SOUGHT-OUT THE MESS IN ZAMBIA.
@Just thinking, rice, potatoes, and wheat products to be eaten with what? Nshima goes with a lot of veggies.
who is going to survive on rice, potatoes and bread? maybe you alone. Us for me and my family, it shall be nshima until the day Jesus decide to come back. Even in Western province, Nakonde, Chama, Chinsali, Malambo where they seriously grow rice, they still eat nshima with no regrets.
Look at Bo Lubinda he is now too fat to even fit in his jacket..surely what would he know about market forces when you are enjoying allowances and free fuel. Instead of diversifying our diet we are stuck in the selfsame cycle.
YES.
IS IT THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE OR TRADE AND INDUSTRY TO DEAL WITH SUCH ?
ZAMBIA IA A LIBERALIZED ECONOMY. AND NOW LOOK AT THIS HALF-ZAMBIAN GUY MEDDLING IN THE AFFAIRS OF MILLERS. SUPPLY AND DEMAND SHOULD DETERMINE THE PRICE OF THE COMMODITY. IF EVERY COMMODITY HAS GONE UP IN ZAMBIA, WHY SHOULDN’T MAIZE-MEAL GO UP? GET REAL YOU FAILURES. YOU HAVE AUCTIONED OUR COUNTRY ALREADY. IMAGINE FOR LUNGU TO CONSULT FAILED AND OUTDATED MUGABE, BANDA AND KAUNDA ON ISSUES OF GOVERNANCE. DO YOU EXPECT LUNGU TO FUNCTION AS A 21st CENTURY PRESIDENT? LUNGU IS A DULL PRESIDENT, PERIOD.
President Kambwili will shut at the millers they will see heads will role he does not joke man of action but less education with no skills at call.
President Kambwili will shut at the millers they will see heads will role he does not joke man of action but less education with no skills at all.
Lafarge has announced an increase in the price of cement from K54 to K62 a bag and so has Dangote citing high production costs and devaluation of the Kwacha. So all the excitement of Dangote entry in the market has been shortlived
Lubinda, you need prayers. Report to the stadium on sunday to have your eyes opened by reverend Kambwili. You’re looking but you can’t see even self-evident reasons! Your PF is adulterating the kwacha-dollar equation yet you want business to remain calm. Vulika menso iwe muzungu belela.
Our friends in Ethiopia have constructed a metro line train system that carries about 150,000 people in one hour to relieve traffic we are still talking about maize meal.
@ Jay Jay
They are CONSTRUCTING for past seven years. Check the facts before jumping the gun.
IQ138 you are the one who is wrong they only started construction early last year.So stop misleading people and learn to research moreover am here in Ethiopia for 10 years now
The answer is simple. 5 months back sending P1000.00 to Zambia translated into K500.00. Yesterday, I sent P950.00 and in Zambia they received K1000.00. The value of the kwacha is downed by the failing government PF. Can you pack and go!!!
We are all agreable that the economy may not be turned round over-night, but what we are not agreable is a situation where the government or party in power is making no strides to make a few mitigatation measures. PF government seem to believe in fatalism, which is a belief by the uninformed people lacking education. Even at household level families sometime are faced with such challenges, but wife and Husband would sit down and see how to take short term measures to save the children from hunger, but as for PF it is the oppsite. All they say is we shall wait untill the economic situation improves globally, this is absurd, because this may not happen soon for development comes with a lot of challenges worldover.
IT’S HIGH TIME ZAMBIANS DIVERSIFIED THEIR STAPLE FOOD. A LOT OF IRIS, SWEET POTATOES INCLUDING CASSAVA, MUMBU, YAMS AND DIFFERENT MILLET AND MILLERS AND SORGHUMS INCLUDING RICE ARE GROWN IN ZAMBIA. AS LONG AS ZAMBIANS ADAMANTLY FIXATED ON NSHIMA THEY WILL EVER BE EXPLOITED BY FARMERS AS WELL AS THE GOVERNMENTS. ZAMBIANS MUST LEARN FROM OUR FRIEND IN THE EASTERN AND WESTERN AFRICAN REGIONS WHO ARE SO DIVERSIFIED WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD PREPARATIONS. IN ANY CASE, IT IS SO EXPENSIVE JUST TO EAT NSHIMA AT LUNCH AND SUPER MAYBE EVEN BREAKFAST. AND TO YOU ZAMBIAN FOOD TECHNOLOGISTS, IT’S YOUR CHALLENGE TO DESIGN MANY DISHES OUT OF THE CARBOHYDRATE-RICH FOOD STUFF I HAVE MENTIONED ABOVE. LEAD THE PEOPLE INTO PREPARING DIFFERENT DISHES. THERE’S PLENTY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOODS IN ZAMBIA BUT…
@Pretty. True, nsima does work well with a lot of vegetables. Potatoes and rice work quite well with vegetables, also. The same veggies you would use with nsima can be used with rice or potatoes and get a higher nutritional value. I am not against nsima – just need more diversification. One bad year for maize and Zambia will suffer. Nobody wants that. It usually takes such a catastrophe before true diversification happens – my hope is only that we can learn from history and other nations without having to make the same mistakes.
The Zambian scene is an oxymoron. The Ministers will grand stand and rant to be seen to be working yet doing very little to affect anything (of course they have no CONTROL on the markets as it is), while the population quickly ADJUSTS themselves to the new prices with very little fuss… It is a pull and pull state of affairs. We only react when the middle gives way, which, by then, is usually almost beyond redemption.
I used to think Lubinda was a decent politician. He is just like the others!
Free market economy.
#OneZambia