Why Kenyans are furious

• Four millers are so far contracted to mill the maize on the government’s behalf and give it back for distribution.
• The country requires 3 million bags of maize monthly, and the 700,000 is basically supposed to last a week.
• PS Kiome said the state is yet to deal with the issue of how to handle bran.
  

Dr Kiome said the millers “are using the ratios they normally use”. Monitoring this is beyond any government, which might demonstrate the folly of state involvement in the project. A miller is likely to deliver the quantity he confesses to milling and mint millions selling the balance.

Besides, the government has no capacity to monitor the sale of the 5kg packages, and millers say this will result in huge opportunities for illegal repackaging for sale. The package is going for Sh130.

Last week, National Cereals and Produce Board sold the flour to the public, but making sure that the commodity ends up in the right hands is a hard task.

The Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority descended on the National Cereals and Produce Board at the same time to probe allegations of corruption by its officials.

The parastatal advertised for a tender to import 3 million bags of maize, underlining the government’s refusal to allow millers to import maize free of tax.