Copperbelt Province Permanent Secretary Bright Nundwe has directed the security wing to tighten security at all border points in order to curb smuggling of maize and mealie-meal out of the country.
Mr Nundwe says the security wing must ensure that no single bag of maize or mealie-meal exit the country using illegal means.
Mr. Nundwe told ZANIS in an interview that security personnel in the province should verify every document on vehicles ladden with maize or mealie-meal.
He said it is unacceptable for people in the province to be purchasing the commodity at higher prices when the country is boasting of recording a bumper harvest in the 2017/2018 farming season.
Mr. Nundwe said the scanty supply of the commodity which the province is experiencing was as a result of people engaging in illegal exportation of maize and mealie-meal to the neighboring countries.
The Copperbelt province Permanent Secretary said people on the Copperbelt should be appreciating the bumper harvest which the country registered by purchasing mealie-meal at cheaper prices.
Mr. Nundwe lamented that the illegal transportation of the country’s staple food is defeating the whole purpose of Zambia boasting of having a bumper harvest.
Efforts to get Copperbelt police Commissioner Charity Katanga were not successful by broadcast time as her mobile phone was reachable.
You can’t even explain how your Accountants stole money in your Province. You are not competent, PS.
What bumper harvest ? If there was a bumper harvest then government would have been more than happy to export the excess maize in order to get more forex but as it is now there isn’t enough maize in the silos that’s why maize exports are banned. Contradictions.
I think bumper harvest is not very well understood by the writer.