GOVT MUST BE HONEST ABOUT PLANS TO IMPORT GMO MEALIE MEAL
There is need for Mr Hakainde Hichilema and his corrupt puppet regime to be honest and transparent about the mealie meal crisis in the country.
It is very important that this regime and Mr Hichilema, in particular, takes full responsibility of this unprecedented leadership failure and admit that we have a serious mealie meal crisis at hand. Let them swallow their pride and tell the nation the truth by revealing the extent of this crisis.
Mr Hichilema must know that keeping quiet, denying or concealing the truth about the current mealie meal crisis has damaging consequences. Evidently, the mealie meal situation in the country today has reached desperate levels and this regime can no longer mask or pretend that this problem doesn’t exist.
And we want to repeat the counsel we have consistently offered to Mr Hichilema that he must be extremely cautious with the manner they are handling the mealie meal situation in the country. History has shown that the poor have never been friendly in their response to unprecedented high food prices and shortages. When their lives and well-being are threatened due to unaffordable food prices and shortages, the poor have always sought solutions differently and in their own way. But there is no need to tempt people to reach such desperate levels.
Let Mr Hichilema acknowledge that their failure to manage the mealie meal supply and prices poses a serious national security risk both in the short-term and long-term.
However, we are aware that there are plans by this regime to import mealie meal from South Africa for the next eight to 12 months. We request them to be honest and transparent over this transaction and let the people know way in advance that the mealie meal that will be coming through from South Africa is Genetically Modified (GMO) and it should be clearly labelled as such. So that citizens can have a choice and decide whether to eat GMO mealie meal or not.
Further, it is high time this regime and Mr Hichilema specifically, humbled themselves for once and listened to other stakeholders. This regime was told by many, including ourselves, that their senseless exports of maize will lead to mealie meal shortages but they ignored this wise counsel.
We told them that their claim that Zambia had more than enough maize stocks was flawed and failed to consider the role of government in driving maize production through input subsidies. Now they have depleted the reserves and are resorting to desperate measures. As usual they were confident in their lies and deceit yet they didn’t know what they were doing and where the situation was headed.
If the nation had enough reserves as they claimed, why are they importing GMO mealie meal? Will this leadership ever be serious enough to take care of the numerous problems facing our people? This is the highest form of recklessness and sheer incompetence. Why is Mr Hichilema and his league gambling with people’s lives? Why are they changing policy every day?
The mealie meal situation in the country is unbearable and the citizens have been inconvenienced and wrestled with prohibitive prices for a while. This is unacceptable and this situation can’t continue.
Mr Hichilema and his corrupt puppet regime have failed.
One bad term, doesn’t deserve another, aleya!
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party