Posted on October, 8, 2018 at 10:06 am
Frustrated maize farmers are now seeing a ray of hope in the horizon after the President publicly admonished the National Cereals and Produce Board and the Agriculture secretary over irregular maize payments to traders and brokers.
It is shocking that majority of maize farmers are yet to be paid part of Sh3.5 billion for the produce they delivered to NCPB eight months ago yet a few well connected individuals were paid for importing maize.
This is totally unacceptable and action must be taken quickly to ensure that deserving farmers are paid for their sweat and toil.
The endemic corruption in our midst knows no boundaries and consumes everything in its wake. It must be tamed immediately.
We hope that the President’s anger will translate into something tangible for the long suffering farmers.
We wholly support the President’s pledge to punish the officials and traders behind the nefarious scheme.
Government officials have unashamedly been promising farmers that their dues would soon be released to no avail.
This culture of running circles around poor farmers and making empty promises must come to an end.
Parliament has also stepped in and ordered the Auditor-General to conduct an audit to confirm whether the billions of shillings worth of maize stored at the NCPB silos are fit for human consumption.
The National Assembly’s Public Investment Committee said it had received a tip-off that a huge consignment at the depots was unfit for human consumption.
The NCPB and maize management system should be totally overhauled as it only raises the cost of the staple for consumers and encourages corruption.
Our heavy dependence on the popular staple has also been thoroughly exposed and abused with reckless abandon by corrupt cartels.
Time has come for us to look for alternative staples and a new cereals management system.
We also hope that the government will crack hard on corruption in the sector and elsewhere.
Source: Business Daily