MPs admit buying maize from board

Wananchi protest at the shortage of maize in the country. Fresh evidence have emerged indicating that maize shortage in the country could have been precipitated by a collusion between legislators and millers to purchase maize stocks reserved in NCPB depots across the country. PHOTO/ FILE

What you need to know:

  • Many say grain was to assist starving people in their areas

Millers were desperate as early as October last year over the shortage of maize and turned to their MPs for assistance to procure grain for their regions.

Some of the MPs intervened by writing to the National Cereals and Produce Board bosses. Some senior Government officers also made similar requests. Some of the notes to NCPB officials followed telephone conversations.

It was not clear whether the beneficiaries were allocated the maize or not and the list of notes seen by the Nation was not complete.

Acute shortage

The bags of maize requested ranged from as few as 500 to more than 50,000.

“I kindly request you to assist my people with maize because they are really suffering and starving due to lack of food,” one of the MPs wrote.

Another wrote: “Schools in my constituency have an acute shortage of white maize. Kindly assist her [a miller from the MP’s constituency] to purchase the maize to supply the schools and institutions in my constituency to avoid any crisis.”

One of the MPs from Eastern Province wrote to NCPB saying: “The following people have approached me to recommend them to you so that they can be considered for purchase of white dry maize from any of your depots.”

Area is dry

Another from Central Rift asked NCPB to sell to a posho mill in his constituency 5,000 bags of maize, saying the area is dry and that the mill serves 10,000 families.

An MP from North Eastern said the area was facing serious drought and appealed to NCPB to sell a miller 3,000 bags of maize.

An MP who is also a director of a company helped it secure 10,000 bags of maize, saying the shortage of the commodity had greatly hampered its business.

One such letter said a firm had approached an MP through its director to appeal to an NCPB official to sell them 40,000 bags of maize.

“The purpose of this letter therefore is to make a humble request to you to sell the maize to the millers since they have employed a number of youths and sell their products to local institutions and retail traders in the district,” the letter added.

In another instance a handwritten note bearing the letterhead of a permanent secretary tells an NCPB official that the person with the note has been sent by a top government official.

Not allocated

A former MP also wrote to the NCPB, intervening on behalf of a person who had paid for 3,000 bags of maize but had not been allocated any.

Two Cabinet ministers requested for more than 10,000 bags of maize. Some 500 bags were allocated to a women’s group that supplies flour in one districts.

One assistant minister requested 63, 000 bags for seven individuals, some of whom run milling companies.

A company requested to buy 50,000 bags and their bid appears to be endorsed by a permanent secretary.

An MP from Eastern asked for 10,000 bags of maize for a miller because “this will go a long way in assisting the proprietors who are both my constituents as well as my very reliable friends”.

An aide of an MP from Western also wrote to NCPB.

Some of the MPs who spoke to the Nation admitted to buying maize from NCPB, saying there was nothing wrong with that.

“I have been buying maize from NCPB since 2006 for myself and to help my people. I was educated through maize proceeds,” one said and took issue with the media for not publishing all the names of those who bought the grain.

Others said they requested the supplies after getting reports that their colleagues were doing so.

Some people close to MPs allegedly used letterheads of the politicians to ask for the supplies.