Name Maize cartels or get impeached! CS Kiunjuri given 7 days to decide his fate

Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri’s fate will have to be known in the next seven days.

Following the scandals witnessed at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), Kiunjuri has been given seven days to name cartels behind illegal maize importation or be impeached.

The embattled CS has been under pressure on various scandals in his ministry, running from unpaid farmers to illegal importation.

It also emerged that the illegally imported maize in stores was unfit for human consumption after reports emerged that the maize was contaminated after being poorly stored. Kiunjuri is also said to have ignored warnings from NCPB store managers on the outcomes of the method used to store the maize.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has also more than once lashed Kiunjuri in public over the NCPB scandal, telling him to come clean on the matter or face the consequences.

Can this be part of the consequences altered by President Kenyatta? Well, Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter yesterday said Kiunjuri has failed to rein in unscrupulous traders whom he said have taken over management of departments in the ministry.

The MP asked the minister to resign and leave office.

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“Why is he still in office? He is not telling us who are these cartels. He even doesn’t know the exact amount of maize that has gone bad. We will impeach him,” Keter said.

He was addressing a press conference at Parliament Buildings.

On Wednesday, investigations into maize importation showed the ministry illegally shipped in four million bags last year. Documents tabled before the Senate ad hoc committee investigating the matter shows 10 million bags were imported by December last year against the approved six million bags.

In May last year, the government allowed importation of maize through a subsidy programme to cushion consumers against high unga prices.

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Maize flour prices increased to a record Sh150 per 2kg packet. The importation was to end in September but the government extended the window to December.

Keter said some traders and millers imported bad maize which is unfit for human consumption.

“Cartels want to create artificial maize shortage since they imported bad ones, we will not allow any more imports because farmers have enough maize,” Keter said.

The lawmaker asked the government to clear debts owed to farmers. He also want prices for this year’s harvest declared and stores opened to receive maize. Farmers still have their last year’s harvest in their houses due to lack of good market. With this scandals at the NCPB, do you think farmers will be ready to take their maize to NCPB again now that some have until now not been paid?

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