This could just be the beginning of his troubles! Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri has been lashed in publuic by President Uhuru Kenyatta not once, but the most recent lash being witnessed in Kakamega during the Mashujaa Day Celebrations.
The CS who on Tuesday appeared before the parliamentary Agricultural committee to respond to the scandals witnessed at the National Cereals and Produce Board.
Farmers who supplied maize to the board last year are said not to have received their payment dues until now, the issue that placed Kiunjuri at the centre of the scandal.
But now NCPB still has 240,000 bags of maize imported from Mexico, 10 months since the subsidy programme ended.
Could this be the beginning of Kiunjuri’s troubles at the ministry?The subsidy maize programme was started in 2016 after a shortage that made flour prices surge to a record high of Sh150 per 2kg packet.
The programme came to an end in December 2017 so the government could start buying maize from farmers.
Albin Sang, the NCPB acting managing director, said they are not able to sell the maize at Sh2,300 as approved by the Strategic Food Reserve because the price is higher than the market rate.
“But we have a challenge in selling the maize because of the current prices of maize in the local market which range between Sh1,600 and Sh1,200 for a 90kg bag in the North Rift region,” he said yesterday.
But Agriculture and Irrigation CS Mwangi Kiunjuri on Tuesday said the government will start buying maize from the farmers.
“NCPB has relocated all the maize in the maize-growing areas to pave way for space for stock to be harvested from the main crop starting next month. SFR board will meet soon to deliberate and set price of the harvest from the main crop. The board will then direct the cereals board to start purchase of maize,” he said.
Sang confirmed the board has 6.5 million bags of 50kg and 240,000 bags imported last year.
“Once the decision is made on sale, the board will execute it accordingly because we have to create space for the next harvest,” he said. Harvest of the main crop starts next month and ends in February next year.