Mealie meal shortage worries PF on the Copperbelt

Mealie  meal shortage worries PF on the Copperbelt

Ndola, March 20, 2013, ZANIS — The Patriotic Front in Luanshya says the continued overpricing of mealie meal and shortage of the commodity on the Copperbelt will seriously affect its popularity in the province if left unchecked.

Luanshya PF District Political Secretary Alex Simponda says it was for the same problem of mealie meal that led to the downfall of the former President Kenneth Kaunda and UNIP then in the 90s.

ZANIS reports that Mr Simponda said this in Luanshya yesterday when Provincial Minister Mwenye Musenge visited Antelope Milling Company and held a meeting with management over the matter.

Mr. Simponda called on the company to work with the government of the day by assisting it in ensuring that mealie meal is made available in the right quantities and on time so that people do not cue up and wait for too long.

He charged that despite the company claiming that it was delivering mealie meal in the local townships of Luanshya, reports had reached the party that some unscrupulous individuals were buying the commodity in large quantities from the company’s outlets and hoard the commodity to create an artificial shortage to later at a higher price.

And Luanshya Mayor Nathan Bwalya said the problem of mealie has not spared the town as mealie meal was not readily available in most shops and that most bags been sold were 10kg breakfast bags which also quickly run out.

Mr. Bwalya also said some shop outlets after buying the mealie meal in bulk were reloading the same commodity in the night and then transport to unknown destination.

He said there is need to vigilantly monitor the movement of the meal from the milling so that ordinary residents of Luanshya buy the bags cheaply at the official price of KR50.00 per 25kg breakfast mealie meal.