The government is trying to coerce millers not to hike mealie meal prices following the recent 15 per cent rise of fuel rates in Zambia by refuting reports that the Millers Association of Zambia had written to the government proposing a 35 per cent increase in the staple food.
According to Agriculture deputy Minister Greyford Monde, the government had not received correspondence from the Millers Association of Zambia in which the millers want to hike the price of the staple food.
But the Millers association of Zambia has said the proposal was delivered the government last week.
The government is wary that price hikes in the staple food may instigate social unrest and the make the Patrotic Front (PF) regime unpopular. Last year, President Michael Sata warned that he did not want food shortages and price hikes in the staple food because that was a source of trouble for any government and he did not want to lose popularity like former president Kenneth Kaunda, who experienced riots in Zambia because of food shortages.
Monde said the ministry of Agriculture was not in possession of the proposed mealie meal price hike.
He warned the millers to be careful with the manner in which they want to handle the increase in mealie meal because this was a sensitive matter that could cause chaos in Zambia.
Monde the Member of Parliament for Itezhi-Tezhi is one of the embattled United Party for National Development parliamentarians who have been roped into the PF government as deputy minister from the opposition.
He said his government would wait for the proposed price hike from the Millers Association of Zambia, but as of now, the only information he had about the matter was from the press.
“We have not received the proposal to increase mealie meal prices from the Millers Association of Zambia. I have not seen it and the officials in the ministry have also not received it. We will engage the millers and dialogue over the matter when we get the document,” he said.
But Millers Association of Zambia president Allan Sakala said the proposal to increase mealie meal prices was delivered to the government early this week.
He said millers would not relent in pushing to hike mealie meal prices because millers were making business losses following the rise of fuel prices.
“We delivered the proposal and it is not new for us to hear that the document was to received. We can deliver another one if need be. We will take all the necessary steps to ensure that we get a fair deal but mealie meal prices will increase for sure since fuel went up and as expected, the price of commodities has to increase and mealie meal is one of the items that heavily relies on fuel to production and operations,” he said.
Recently, the government quashed a 15 per cent fuel subsidy, a matter that has remained controversial across the wide section of society because it is going to force the increase in the cost of essential goods and services.
Last week, bus operators revised bus fares on local routes with a Kr50 upward adjustment in response to the fuel hike, while on the Copperbelt province, the prices of basic goods such as groceries have increased.
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