The FDD says agriculture minister Given Lubinda should stop being childish by challenging the opposition to tour depots to prove that the country has enough maize stocks or not as people are not interested in political games but affordable mealie meal.
FDD Spokesperson Antonio Mwanza said Mr Lubinda said the shortages and escalating prices of mealie meal posses a serious national security and that he would do himself a great favour if he concentrated on doing his job.
Mr Mwanza explained that people are not interested in statistics and that the maize he keeps talking about is of no use to the people if it is kept in sheds.
He said his job as a Minister is not to play pokers games with the opposition but to ensure that the country is food secure as well as ensure that farmers are supplied with inputs on time.
“It is irresponsible and childish for Mr Lubinda to be challenging us to a poker game of proving to him whether FRA has enough stocks of maize or not. People are not interested in statistics. People are interested in having Mealie Meal at affordable prices. What is the use of having maize in the FRA depots while the people are queuing up for Mealie Meal which is fetching at prices beyond their reach? FRA is there to stock strategic reserves and not to supply the nation with “normal” daily supplies.
“If Mr Lubinda and his Paya Future Government have not exported the maize why do we have a critical shortfall of Mealie Meal? The simple rules of supply and demand dictate that when there is low supply of any commodity, the price of that particular commodity automatically goes up,” he said.
Meanwhile Mr Mwanza has said that the PF should stop celebrating the recent gains in the Kwacha against major currencies because even at the current rate the country’s currency has depreciated 90% since they took over from the MMD.
Mr Mwanza explained that when the PF took over government the Kwacha was K4.5 to a Dollar but that it was now trading at K9.5 to a Dollar barely 5 years after taking over.
He said it was irresponsible for the ruling party to be celebrating the minimum gain of the currency when people were still queuing for mealie meal while others can hardly afford the commodity due to high costs of living.
Bushe ba Mwanza – all the time you have to insult people?
Where has he insulted??
In Zambia telling the truth is a very big insult or maybe he is referring to the word childish which in Zambia is an insult to some people
As Zambians we do not know how to collectively handle national issues. We are the worst in politicising everything. We have a lot to learn about politics. How do we surely politicise the issue of mealie meal. No wonder we see some very bad unpatriotic Zambians in the country getting very busy syphoning maize out of the country in order to gain political mileage. It has clearly been stated that we only have enough for the country and not for export and the moment any quantity is exported or just held as GBM confessed, then a shortage is created and subsequently prices increases. The maize released by FRA is not for holding but to immediately process it and supply the maize.
“..hoarding..” from “hoard”. I am tired bane…
Of late Antonio Mwanza is talking a lot of sense, Mr Given Lubinda is insisting that there is enough maize stock at FRA, and Mr Mwanza is right when he says if indeed there is enough maize stock at the FRA and is kept there in sheds then it is of no use to the people. Why is Lubinda hoarding the commodity at the FRA? This man has a hoarding disorder (syllogomania) and he is happy to see people suffer the way it is now with the shortage of mealie (maize) meal. I support those who are calling for the president to fire Lubinda for he is a disappointment to everyone including his own relatives who have to queue for the staple food too.
Why is it childish?
@vizungu,u are wrong,@2 used to the correct word choice in his blogging.by saying HOLDING,meaning reserving or keeping the the maize instead of grinding it into unga.
But was Given being childish by his comments? Mwanza shud have used a better word.
Need we say more,
PAYA FUTURE government, everything is upside down
Most people seem not to understand the very nature of democracy .If people talk about mealie meal shortages you say they are politicizing .Bane that’s what a democracy is all about .Its about the people on the left offering checks and balances and criticizing .Not ati everything you criticize .That’s what the opposition is there for .To keep government on their toes so that they deliver better chapwa!!!!.If you want people to keep quiet then all you PF cadres that want that should migrate to a banana republic like Zimbabwe.
Iwee Kabanshi your kind of democracy is bastartdised. It is unnecessary to criticise an issue such as shortage of maize in southern Africa. Zambia being surrounded by hungry neighbours has a tough time monitoring the porous boarders against mealie meal smugglers.
In any case even if you stated that why can’t we police our boarders better, it is poor neighbourliness to fortress our country while they starve.
Opposition in this country are the ones that are childish, shifty and lack any future plans.
This Mwanza is just inches from becoming GBM in the line of being vulgar!
Yes, childish is even more lenient, it is pracatically stupid. Example, you come from work, you find your kids crying of hunger no one cooked for them, when you ask the house keeper, that why are the children crying, is there no food in this house? She says there is food, she drags you by the hand & shows you the cupboard full of food, what would be you reaction? Be honest, are you going to be happy with yiu house keeper? With all due respect, these are public servants who vowed to save the country to the best of their abilities and poor zambians are desperately queuing up for hours to get a bag of maize meal, and you tell them all is well, we have enough food. In the private sector, if you were the ceo, you will be fired, simple.
Another GBM in the making! Iyoo kuti tuletukwa ba opposition nga mwali winine!
MAYBE FRA DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH MAIZE.most of the maize was with the private sector-ie ETG,UAG,CARGIL, ZDENAKIE, AFGRI, etc,and was exported.FRA deliberately started buying late to avoid farmers flockong to them. i think FRA ONLY HAS enough maize to last two months nowonder the shortages. the maize that the private sector is exporting is not FRA maize. some commercial farmers in mkushi have maize , check agri options,it has 20,000 tons.but they have opted to export it,pure bussiness,.our government should have done there home work.