Police in Chambishi yesterday detained a driver Stanley Mutambo of a Toyota Ipsum registration number ACP 4882 for being in possession of 29 by 10kg bags of mealie meal and a 1 by 125 kg bag of roller meal.
The incident happened when the suspicious PF Mwambashi ward councillor, Rodgers Kapembwa, impounded the vehicle and reported the matter to police.
At the police the driver explained that he was hired by an unknown person to go and ferry the contraband to Zambia Compound for the reason of re-pre packing the mealie meal into smaller packs popularly known as pamela.
Meanwhile, Kalulushi District Commissioner, Ken Siachisumo, has cautioned members of the public not to buy more than two bags of mealie meal to avoid causing artificial shortage of the commodity in the area.
Mr Siachisumo has been on record sensitising communities – both traders and buyers of mealie meal – to be rationing to ensure that there was no shortage of the staple food in the area.
For the recent past, Kalulushi, just like any other town, has been facing non-availability of mealie meal in many outlets causing panic among the residents.
The president has opened the boarder for export of maize from Zambia, so why must we the Zambians ration ourselves to two bags? To me it sounds ridiculous that we cannot trade as we wish in our own country and it is okay for foreigners to benifit.
And what does the law say? Next thing someone will be arrested for breathing too much!
Who would have thought that mealie meal would one day be labelled contraband outside of smuggling…
When did selling pamela become a criminal offence. The man is trader who has a trading licence and from his own experience very few people have enough money to buy 25 kg bags of mealie meal. He has to find a way of remaining business amid poor income levels in the country. Has anyone complained that the pamela melielmeal is health risk or anything of that ought?
Ken Siachisumo and his lunatic government make very laughable statements. Indeed why should we limit trade in Zambia to teo bags when thousands of tonnes of maize is being exported?
Now we are starving the nation! What if I want to transport 50 bags to a rural area where there is no mm available to sell…must I now not do it and allow the people in that area to starve!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHY SHOULD WE RATION TO TWO BAGS THE GOVERNMENT JUST SAID WE HAVE A BUMPER HARVEST AND ENOUGH MAIZE IN THE COUNTRY TO LAST TILL NEXT SEASON IN FACT THEY SAID WE WILL EVEN BE ABLE TO EXPORT WE HAVE SO MUCH MAIZE…..AGAIN THE ARE SHOWING THAT THEY ARE LYING !!!!!!!!!!
Mwebantu which part of the law is being cited when making such an arrest?Ignorance also on the part of the victims is just so hard o fathom.Ine kuponona if some idi.iot was to try to pull such a move on me