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Sh825m lost in maize fraud as hunger bites
The unfolding maize scandal could cost the taxpayer a whopping Sh825 million.
Highly-placed Government sources told the Nation on Wednesday that the Sh150 million quoted in the press could be just a tip of the iceberg and that a cartel of sophisticated individuals was involved in the scheme to defraud the public.
“The actual amount of money involved in the maize scandal is more than what has been stated. It is more than Sh825 million and could even rise to much more when proper investigations are carried out,” said the source who did not want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the investigations.
Price of maize
The latest information on the scandal that was unearthed in November involved 400,000 bags of maize that was released by the Government to millers last month in an attempt to reduce the price of maize flour that had reached Sh120 for a 2-kg packet.
The maize, worth Sh700 million, was distributed to eight millers with one of them receiving 171,729 bags.
It was not clear how the Government appointed the eight millers because there were more than 25 millers who were interested in the contract.
Government sources revealed that in addition to buying the maize at Sh1,750 a bag, the millers were also paid Sh200 per bag as the cost of milling.
The Sh200 Government subsidy was meant to cushion the millers from costs of packaging and milling so that the retail prices would fall to Sh52 for a 2-kg packet. The total cost of the Government subsidy was Sh80 million.
Experts in the milling industry revealed that out of each bag, 16 per cent of the contents are lost as husks and bran which is used for livestock feeding. The total estimate of the waste (husks and bran) was placed at Sh45 million.
This brings to Sh825 million the loss that the Government incurred as it released its own maize to millers in its attempt to reduce the cost of maize flour, which is used to make Kenya’s staple food, ugali.
Government sources also indicated that there were no clear records which could trace how the maize moved from Government stores to the millers and then to the market.
“Where are the records to show how the 400,000 bags were released to millers? Do we have records to show the exact number of kilogrammes of unga (flour) that was milled and have they reached people in rural areas?” asked the source.
Release to millers
The 400,000 bags of maize was part of the 1.2 million bags that Prime Minister Raila Odinga ordered the National Cereals Produce Board to release to millers at Sh1,750 a bag at the beginning of last month.
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what a scam! But there seemed to be misleading figures: 400,000 bags were given to millers plus subsidy of 200 per bag. It remains unclear how you reach at a loss of 825m and I would like to see a clearer calculation of this. The fact that 16% of a bag is waste doesn't give further clarification; it only indicates that out of the 400,000 bags given to the 8 millers 30,000 tons (=15 Mio 2kg packages) of maize flour should have been milled. Where are these? Did they enter the market at which price?
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Mega-scandal after mega-scandal! My head is reeling. Corruption should be declared a national disaster and a crime against humanity.
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I could not help but shed tears when reading this story. Just what is happening to kenya? Are these people human? How they do they sleep at night? They are worse than animals!! But it is our fault for voting them in because they come from our tribes or because they gave us 200 shillings each. We need a complete change of mentalities NOW. We need to start voting for leaders with policies instead of tribes.
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