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High cost of flour inhuman, say MPs
A customer buys maize flour at a Nairobi supermarket on Wednesday. A steady supply of the commodity was reported in major retail outlets ending a week of shortage that had pushed up prices to Sh120 per packet last week. By Wednesday, a packet was being sold at between Sh95 and Sh98 a packet. Photo/HEZRON NJOROGE
Posted Wednesday, November 26 2008 at 21:29
Parliament on Wednesday adjourned to discuss the shortage of maize and maize flour as a matter of national concern.
Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo asked for the adjournment saying the country faced a food crisis.
During the debate in Parliament, Mr Gumbo termed the current crisis inhuman, inconsiderate and unacceptable.
The biggest concern, he said, was the involvement of a cartel in creating an artificial shortage of food commodities.
“Why the explosion of prices? This House has a duty to unearth these people. It owes it to Kenyans and the relevant departmental committees should take up the matter,” he stated.
MPs pushing for the Grand Opposition were accused of being behind the rising prices of maize floor in the country.
Gwassi MP John Mbadi (ODM) told the House that the lawmakers were buying maize from the National Cereals Produce Board and reselling it to millers at exorbitant prices.
Mr Mbadi, who was thrown out of the House for declining to apologise, said the MPs were to blame for the high food prices.
He accused them of driving the patience of the Kenyans overboard. “The leaders of this country are making our people to suffer. Some members pushing for the Grand Opposition and some are sitting here are behind this,” he said.
He was immediately challenged by Kimilili MP Eseli Simiyu (Ford-K) to substantiate his claims that indeed some lawmakers were in the cartel that was pushing up the cost of maize flour.
In response, Mr Mbadi said when the list will be finally tabled in the chamber, they will be surprised.
“Some are young members pushing for the Grand Opposition yet they have been allocated more than 20,000 bags by the cereals board.
“I will not mention names because I don’t have the list,” he said. Temporary Speaker Ekwee Ethuro told him to either substantiate or apologise.
Prof Olweny, on a point of order, questioned why Mr Mbadi was being forced to substantiate yet it was public knowledge who the concerned MPs were.
“Is it in order to pressure the member to clarify when it is in the public domain who these people are?” he asked.
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In the developed countries farmers have their cost of production highly subsidised by the govt. why not in kenya? what happened to large scale farming, irrigation etc? there is a lot of idle land also, why cant it be converted into farming land? shd we also reduce cash crop farming becos it doesnt fetch much? where are the agriculturists to advise this nation? uuuh shida!
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Unga is no longer a necessity, it's a luxury! Any one making windfall profits over this grim situation will have a curse over their heads for generations. How dumb does it get?
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stop games where is kibaki na raila. why let the poor mwananchi suffer at the expense of this greedy MPS do some man.i hope all kenyans remember this fools elected now, come next election.PLEASE vOTE SEND THEM ALL HOME nobody should remain.
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