Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Peter Munya has said that the government has dispatched officers to inspect retail shops, millers’ depots, and facilities, to take stock and monitor pricing, with a spike in demand for the commodity predicted as prices fall.
The government through Munya urged Nyumba Kumi elders and chiefs to keep an eye on maize flour prices and ensure that businesses sell it at the prescribed price.
“For every miller who signs the contract, we deploy officers to go and work with them on the ground. We also have counter-intelligence that is running. We are working with the provincial administration because we are represented in every corner. Likewise, we have assistant chiefs in every village, we have Nyumba Kumi. We want that network to help us ensure that Unga is available in every village in Kenya,” Munya said.
He further affirmed outlets found selling the commodity at rates higher than those stipulated in the subsidy program, despite millers signing a contract with the government will be jailed.
The ministry has stated, however, that it will take at least three days for the goods to sell at the subsidized rates across the country as the government, millers, and retailers gather stock.
The CS stated that Treasury has committed to releasing additional funds on top of the Sh8 billion budgeted for the initiative if the existing allocation is spent.
“We will be replenishing the account as we run the programme. In case the programme requires more money, Treasury is ready to support it,” he said.
Despite alleging that millers were storing the goods to maximize profits, which contributed to a price increase that saw a 2 kg packet of maize flour retail at highs of Sh240 last month, the CS said that the contract with millers required the latter not to hoard the product.
According to the new agreement with millers, half a kilo of unga should cost Sh30, a kilo should cost Sh52, 2 kg should cost Sh100, 5 kg should cost Sh250, 10 kg should cost Sh490, and 50 kg should cost Sh2,250.
Even at subsidized rates, the poor man continues to suffer, with prices rising as the amount one can afford to buy decreases.
The 500g packet is also 15.4 per cent more expensive than the 1 kg packet and 20 per cent more expensive than the 2 kg packet.
Traders stated that they were in discussions with millers to quantify the number of supplies purchased at high costs and sold at subsidized rates for refunds.