The smuggling of maize and maize products into neighbouring countries has continued despite government putting up measures to curb the vice.
Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo is concerned that maize and its products are being siphoned into Malawi despite security measures put to ensure food security in the country.
Mr. Kasolo raised the concerns during a press briefing at his office in Chipata.He explained that government is not allowing maize and mealie meal to be exported because it is being subsidized for Zambians to feed.
Mr. Kasolo was saddened that some Zambians are smuggling the staple food for selfish personal gains at the expense of food security.He also said some business persons were holding on to maize which they bought from small scale farmers with the hope that government will lift the ban to enable them export the grain.
And a check by ZANIS who accompanied Eastern Province Assistant Secretary, Royd Tembo, on a fact finding mission to Mchinji in Malawi,revealed that mealie meal was still being sold at the market at a price of 7, 800 Malawian Kwacha, an equivalent of 117 Zambian Kwacha.
Some residents in Zambia’s Mgubudu area in Chipata said truckloads of maize and its products were passing through villages along the border crossing into Malawi, using illegal routes.
WHO SUBSIDIZED THE MAIZE? DID PF PAY FARMERS? DID PF GIVE THE PROMISED BAGS OF FERTILIZERS TO FARMERS, DID PF REDUCE THE PRICE OF MEALIEMEAL? IF NON OF THESE IS YES THEN SMUGGLING SHOULD CONTINUE FOR EOPLE TO PUT MONEY IN THEIR BAMBA OR NIKA POCKETS
Keeping on feeding the region Zambia you are a blessed nation. Haters will always claim that there is hunger in the country in the hope of getting their dirty hands on the instruments of power. GOD bless Zambia.
@anyoko people know HH and GBM nothing can change that, these two are power hungry with insatiable appetite for money. They are going into oblivion come 11 August. I cant wait to see a great nation without haters from a named political party.
What smuggling is he referring to, that is trade and we need it to be promoted in order to earn the much need green buck.
Keeping on feeding the region Zambia you are a blessed nation. Haters will always claim that there is hunger in the country in the hope of getting their dirty hands on the instruments of power. GOD bless Zambia.
Evidently, the so-called security measures are failing. The National Service and Police are deliberately letting down the Government for political reasons. They have been infiltrated, compounded by their own corruption. Zambians must now take the law into their own hands. They must loot all mealie-meal and maize which is clearly destined for smuggling. Despite all this, ECL is headed for victory because Zambians love him.
You call it smuggling when its local businessmen but when its Bo Lubinda and his corrupt FRA officals doing it via their proxy companies you call it exporting.
Take away a toy from a child , give him another, and he is satisfied. But if he be hungry no toy will do!!!!
They are reaping the fruits of their own labour… after delivering to FRA you wait for ages to get paid..
the truth of the matter is PF are the ones smuggling the maize to neighbouring countries. we know what is hapenning here. we are not fools. FRA has removed all the people that not proPF and what they are doing is getting export permits for the FRA maize (which if i am not mistaken is supposed to be strategic reserves). now you are condemning a little smuggling but you forget that you have even made the Lusaka province PS to be the one to clear all permits. since when did this responsibility change?
if it was the opposition involved, they would have sent pf police to arrest the people involved and pf vuvuzela’s the times and daily mail and znbc would have been quick to name the people involved. shame.
The mark-up is extremely significant. Retailing locally at about K70 but being grabbed in Malawi at K117 in cash (K47 or 67% mark-up), it makes it quite a challenge to curb this practice!
Food security threatened..