Maputo maize probe travel plans scrapped
Photo/FILE
Importers of condemned cereals are required to ship the cargo back to the country of origin for destruction.
A parliamentary team has again cancelled plans to travel to Mozambique to investigate imports of bad maize into Kenya.
The plans were scrapped after a team from the Agriculture, Health and Foreign Relations committees rejected an itinerary drawn up by the Kenyan high commission in Maputo.
The MPs had been scheduled to travel on Sunday.
Agriculture committee chairman John Mututho said the team might be forced to table its report in Parliament if it fails to make the trip by September.
“We rejected the envoy’s itinerary because we have our own strategy,” he said, adding that foul play was suspected.
The Naivasha MP said the committee believes Maputo holds the key to a syndicate that is importing bad grain.
Importers of condemned cereals are required to ship the cargo back to the country of origin for destruction.
Owners pay destruction charges, which are usually much higher than the cost of the grain.
There are claims that three Kenyan ministers travelled to South Africa in 2009 where a deal was struck to buy controversial maize.
The committee says government officials have failed to explain why documents relating to the grain imports originate from Maputo.
“Someone is concealing something. At Maputo they don’t have a credible port inspection process ... the maize that was shipped there was meant for destruction but a highly organised cartel smuggles the grain out of Maputo to unsuspecting markets. That’s how the maize found its way here,” said Mr Mututho.
“About 40 per cent of GMO maize that landed in Kenya was imported through Maputo and that is why we insist on going there,” he said.
It is alleged all maize that has come into Kenya since 2009 has been condemned for one reason or another. The imports total around 240,000 metric tonnes.
Mr Mututho said the cartel of maize barons in Kenya was more dangerous than the sugar barons.
The committee said the cartels prefer to import GMOs from South Africa when there is a lot of good maize in neighbouring Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia at cheaper prices.
