MPs raise queries over speed of importing maize from Mexico

The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture is now questioning the government decision to import maize to bring down flour prices in the country.

The National Assembly Committee on Agriculture claims the speed with which the maize has arrived in Kenya suggests local shortage may have been artificially created to enable cartels profit from the importation.

Committee members; Opiyo Wandayi, Mary Wambui and Florence Mutua, are also demanding to know the procurement plan claiming a shadowy deal might have occasioned the crisis in the country for political fund raising.

“At what stage did the process of importing this maize start? And if it has been imported by a private player, what privileged information did they have that the rest of the country did not have?” wondered Wandayi.

The committee now wants the government and the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Agriculture to come clean on the Mexican maize deal.

“We want the Agriculture CS to tell us the truth,” insisted Wambui.

The maize imported from Mexico is intended to address biting shortage of maize flour that is being felt across the country due to shortage of maize which has led to spiraling prices of maize flour.

It is anticipated that the maize, imported duty free, will ease the retail prices of maize flour to below Ksh 115 for a two-kilogram packet from the current Ksh 160.

On Monday, millers had played down expectations on flour prices reduction arguing that at between 4,200 and 4,400 shillings per 90 kg bag, the imported maize was too expensive though the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, Willy Bett, blames millers of unfairly colluding to overprice maize flour.

At least 320,000 more bags are expected from the neighboring Ethiopia soon.