Friday, March 29, 2024

Maize and mealie meal export ban still stands-Siliya

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Minister of Agriculture Dora Siliya
Minister of Agriculture Dora Siliya

Minister of Agriculture Dora Siliya has said that “the maize and mealie meal ban still stands until the Country is food secure.”

Ms Siliya was responding to a delegation from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) led by Minister of Agriculture also Acting Minister of Fisheries and Livestock Mr Jean-Marie Bulambo Kilosho who is in the Country to have talks with government on various issues surrounding the Two countries especially people living near the boarder area.

She said the country stores about a million metric tonnes in it’s reserves to sustain the country but that the country has less and given the prevailing challenges of Army Worms and Red locusts attacking most Maize fields in the country, Government has to make sure enough is stored as this year’s harvest might be affected.

Ms Siliya explained that as a country, it was necessary to place an embargo on the export of maize and mealie meal as government has to ensure the country is food secure.

“Yes we applaud the Zambian business community and as government, we can not suppress them as they contribute to the country’s economic growth but were we stand, we understand that the country has about 700,000 – 800,000 metric tonnes of maize but most of it is seating with the private entity who are also responsible for supplying the commodity to the Zambian people. And if the ban is lifted, the Zambian people will feel the pressure as the commodity will become expensive and not enough will be reserved,” Ms Siliya said.

The Minister further said that as the Ministry of Agriculture, there is need to consult the Head of State if the export of the requested 20,000 metric tonnes of the commodity should be exported as this can only be done in a government to government request.

In the Zambian delegation was Presidential Affairs Minister Hon Freedom Sikazwe, Livestock Minister Hon Micheal Katamba, Zambia National Service (ZNS) Deputy Commandant Major General Alick Kamiji, Permanent Secretaries from Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and other government officials.

Speaking earlier Mr Kilosho said his delegation was hoping that the meeting will bring about solutions to combat the challenges and also strengthen the relationship between the two Countries.

Mr Kilosho who gave a brief history of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo and alluded that the DRC would like to see this relationship grow stronger.

Meanwhile Mr Kilosho said the main reason of the visit was to address the Maize and Mealie Meal embargo that has been placed making it difficulty for Congo to access food from Zambia.

The Congolese Minister requested the Zambian government to allow 20,000 metric tonnes of maize be exported as it was a signed Agreement between a local supplier from Zambia and the Congolese government and further requested an extra 30,000 metric tonnes export of the commodity to Congo.

The duo were speaking at a press briefing held at the Vice President’s Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), Mr Kilosha also said the government of Congo is hoping that the deliberations will bring about coorperation between the two governments especially from the Zambian side to allow Maize and Mealie Meal be exported to the Congo.

27 COMMENTS

  1. You corrupt fat pig. You should be last one to comment on this issue. Why hadn’t she resigned or lungu asked her to step aside while investigation are commenced regarding getting maizegate. And yet lungu claims to have studied law my foot. Lungu is a mad rat

    • Pwapwapwapwapwa, ati minister of milisi, while that Chris katongo lookalike bwana katambo is minister of nsomba, that’s the only thing seem to be so concerned about aquaculture nothing else.

    • Dora Siliya is incompetent and corrupt. She is a journalist. It is shocking that Lungu did not appoint a person with a qualification in agriculture to lead the ministry of agriculture. This demonstrates the level of corruption in his government. Dora is indeed extremely overweight . She is at risk of a hear attack and diabetes. Her double chin and massive belly is revolting.

  2. Congolese minister was literally begging for his country to import maize, and this pf ministry of Dora siliya was busy doing chilepule baby in new York with that Congolese rhumba dancer boyfriend, instead of making sure that e-coupons for farmers are activated and fertilizer is in the right hands on time, now bamulamu ba congole bazafa nanjala chifukwa cha nyeke, Donald Trump is right too much sex in Africa, no work.

  3. Government give maize to Congo these people are in double trouble, hunger and war better they eat to have energy to run and cross the border to find enough food in Zambia.

  4. Madam slit come on give them enough food after all they are our semekies who have exended slits of our sisters to a big size in new york

  5. The PF gvt should definitely help our congolese relatives. Apart from the easterners and Namwangas no tribe in Zambia can say they, congolese, are not our relatives. It pains to see our Zambian women being abused by ZNS personnel who offer passage to women for sex. Come to Kasumbalesa you will be surprised at what you see. Mr Kampyongo, come incognito, to this border town ..all is being done because of maize being claimed it is smuggled. This never happened during Chiluba and Mwanawasa eras ..reason is simple they originated from Congo. Is what is happening the same as Lundazi or Cipata border no ..reason is Dora is helping her relatives. Dora ukese kuno ukamone ifyo ZNS ilecita kuli banamayo. The Chililabombwe MP should speak and come up with a solution. Help dull/prostitute Dora…

    • @Saddened, my fellow citizen, do you really believe in your heart of hearts that the people you have listed care? the sooner we accept our reality the sooner you will find peace.

  6. These neighboring countries should also learn from us how to pray for God’s intervention! We are in the same region, how come its only Zambia that is food secure? God answers prayer!

    • God answers us at farming, our neighbours their God answers them at other things which we also import from them. Botswana produce beef, salt which we import from them. Hundreds of Trucks of salt from Sowa Town in Botswana cross into Zambia taking salt to DRC, Tanzania, Kenya, Brundi, Rwanda, Malawi including Zambia & no Motswana cries of smuggling because they are legally exporting to earn forex. In Zambia every thing exported is smuggling or corruption by the opposition & their whistle blower Dr. Chishimba. The slug which our mining companies are extracting copper & others metals from for export is produced in DRC & DRC doen’t cry of smuggling. DRC exports their music & musicians, doctors to Zambia. Primitivity is at its best in Zambia by the opposition.

  7. THEY SOLD MAIZE TO MUGABE, SOME WERE CORRUPTLY SOLD TO THEIR RELATIVES IN MALAWI AND THEN YOU DELIBERATELY DECIDE TO STARVE THE ZAIREANS. THAT IS SEGREGATION. CONGOLESE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS AND IT IS ILLOGICAL TO SUDDENLY JEOPARDISE OUR RELATIONSHIP. GIVE THEM FOOD, THEY ARE NOT BEGGING, THEY WANT TO BUY. FOOD IS A NEED. IT IS SELFISHNESS TO LET YOUR NEIGHBOUR DIE WHEN YOU HAVE PLENTY IN YOUR HOUSE.

    • Honorable Siliya, Please discuss this issue with the head of state mr. ecl, we can not turn our brothers and sisters the congolese away, God has given us, if we have enough we should not watch our neighbors starve, despite of all the smuggling. thank you.

  8. Its sad to see customer pleading to buy what he is ready to pay for. We are cursed nation, rejecting business opportunities in name of food security, reserving maize for chibuku beer production. Farmers are stuck with their produce meant for export because of export ban. Emulate South Africans, they export every little fish, oranges, potatoes, apples, bananas, though they also produce gold, without politicking, to earn forex. Botswana also export almost 95% of their beef to European Union even if they are major producers of diamonds. In Zambia, there is plenty of food, cassava, sorghum, millet, potatoes, butter nut for locals consumption. The opportunities we are missing to earn forex today we will remember them one day when other neighbouring countries jump on them.

  9. Here is an opportunity for a country to make money which a dull government cannot see. This should be a wake up call to the current regime to step up maize production for export to our neighboring countries. But because these people in government have a poverty mentality, we’ll be seeing maize export bans after this season and the next. They just want to go and beg for money from western countries. Western countries have nothing special, they just utilize whatever resources they have to make money which you later go and beg for. This is where I agree very much with Dambisa Moyo. @ SADDENED, I agree with you that the only people who are not relatives to the Congolese are Namwangas and Easterners but you left out the Tongas.

  10. @SADDENED, History suggests that Namangas and Tongas may have come from the same place and maybe very related as a study of the two groups has shown a lot of similarities between them. Namwangas came from North-east Africa ( What is currently known as Ethiopia and nearby countries including the middle east) around 500 BC.

  11. Comment: same pipo complaining of mealie meal prices are the ones saying government should allow exports. For your information, one bag of mealie meal is going at $45. Everything that millers produce would end up there were they make good profit because here in zambia we are just good at complaining.

  12. Another ‘Maize Scandal’ in the offing, now involving Congolese with our own disgraced, husband grabber, greedy Dollar Siliya. Zambia will once more be dragged into shame of scandals with a foreign country. Shame of Lungu is shame for us all.

  13. Husband grabber! Are you joking? Must have been a desperate man to be attracted to a bald, overweight despicable human being! Make and a dirty wig will not make you beautiful Dora Siliya. You are a rotten person who belongs in the trash and should not be representing the people of Zambia.

  14. Mixed reactions indeed. It is difficult for any to see that Zambia is doing very very well despite our own challenges. How many nations look to Zambia for food or animal feed? seriously speaking, its all our neighbors tho we don’t still appreciate that at all. This so claimed and wrongly called dead economy is a heaven for Congo to an extent of our friends begging like Lazarus for 20,000 out of 815,000 in stock. I wonder what would be said of PF if Zambia went to beg for 20,000 with a population of 78 million like congo when we cant appreciate 815,000 metric tons for only 15 million population. We complain too much.

  15. You calling Dora overweight, go to an eye specialist or learn more about full well rounded women. When you are done with your homework you can start looking and appreciating heartattack inducing real women again! Unless of course you prefer matchsticks ha ha! No grip!

    • Do you even know what the recommended bmi for a woman her age is? Please don’t show your ignorance here. If anything she is morbidly obese. It is not healthy.

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