Defense Minister Ambrose Lufuma has exclusively revealed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT the reasons behind the three Zambia National Service – ZNS Industrial Milling Plants failure to help improve supply of affordable mealie-meal and help tame the escalating prices with some areas districts reporting prices of K240 per 25kg bag of breakfast mealie meal.
Residents in different parts of the country have bitterly complained over the escalating prices of the staple food of mealie-meal which have increased the cost of living and made life difficult. Governments had established regional ZNS industrial milling plants that were meant to help cushion mealie meal prices in times of price escalation but this has
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Lufuma revealed that the three ZNS Industrial Milling Plants which are expected to help lower the price of mealie meal are not fully operational as they need a combined total of about 120,000 metric tons of Maize which is not currently available.
“We as the Zambia National Service – ZNS do not have the necessary stock which needs money to make it fully operational.” The Defence minister disclosed. When asked how much investment was needed to make the plants fully operational, Lufuma said, “we require 120,000 metric tons of maize, so if you multiply that by about K200 per bag, you will find out how much is needed”
He explained that once the plants are [supplied] with the necessary stock, they are ready to produce at full capacity as the machines are okay with enough man power, a situation he said may help trickle down the mealie meal prices. Lufuma said this season, they have increased the hectares of maize and are doing better smart farming and better management of the crop in order to maximize [the harvest] per unit area.
He also mentioned that negotiations are currently ongoing with the Food Reserve Agency – FRA to sale the excess stock to ZNS so that they can be able to produce at full capacity. Monze, Chongwe and in Mpika all together have the production of 240,000 metric tons of mealie meal per day.
The industrial milling plants which are a presidential initiative initiated by the previous government under former President Edgar Lungu with financial and technical assistance from the Chinese government. In 2019 former President Lungu flagged off the commencement of the construction of 13 milling plants for each province to have at least one under the presidential milling plants initiative to help curb price escalations like the current one being experienced.
