PRAISE FOR GOVERNMENT BY THE MILLERS ASSOCIATION PREMATURE – SP
…the UPND had promised that a bag of mealie meal would cost K50, says Chinyama
Lusaka… Saturday May 24, 2025 –The opposition Socialist Party (SP) has raised concerns over premature celebrations by the Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) regarding the recent partial reduction in mealie meal prices in some parts of the country.
In a statement issued to the media, SP Presidential Advisor, Preston Chinyama, questioned whether the association was aligning itself with “the public relations efforts of the ruling UPND.”
He expressed shock that MAZ appeared to have forgotten the recent hardships faced by Zambians in accessing mealie meal and other maize products.
According to Chinyama, the country had only recently emerged from a period marked by serious debates on the availability of maize, farming inputs, and the effects of climate change on agriculture.
He reminded the public that the nation had experienced protests over the alleged distribution of genetically modified (GMO) maize sourced from South Africa, which had reportedly been given to certain milling companies.
The government at the time claimed that Zambia was only a transit point for the maize, stating that the intended destination was the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Documents were presented in defense of this claim, though several ministries were implicated in the controversy.
Mr. Chinyama further recalled the health concerns that had been raised over “toxic maize brands,” referencing specialist analyses that sparked widespread alarm.
He noted that many Zambians had gone to bed hungry during the peak of mealie meal shortages and emphasized that those memories were still fresh.
While he acknowledged that any gains made in stabilizing the mealie meal situation were welcome, he warned against forgetting the recent past.
He urged policymakers and stakeholders to approach the issue on a region-by-region basis, considering that harvest outcomes and levels of need varied across the country.
Addressing the current price drop—from K400 to K350 per 25kg bag of mealie meal—Chinyama argued that this was not a significant reduction.
He reminded the public that the UPND had promised during its campaign that a bag of mealie meal would cost K50.
He called on the ruling party to deliver on its promises, asserting that time was running out and public demand for fulfillment was increasing.
He cautioned MAZ President Andrew Chintala against making statements that could be interpreted as political spin.
According to Chinyama, MAZ, as a key stakeholder in the food security sector, must exercise greater care in its communication and should avoid celebrating what he called “temporal gains.”
He concluded by suggesting that MAZ’s recent statements could be viewed either as a contribution to political public relations or as part of a broader attempt at impact mitigation, adding that the public would ultimately judge their motivations.
But this is strange really.We have been given the maize projection throughout the country for 2025 harvest.We have seen the highest province which is the Central province and the lowest which is Western province.Farmers have since been cautioned to take care for the produce in terms of be storage.We appreciate the government for encouraging farmers to grow more food.We must clap for the President of Zambia Mr Hakainde Hichilema for spearheading the production because he was seen on the ground making visitations throughout the country to check on the production activities.He encouraged the armed forces to join in the maize production activity which they completed accordingly. Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) have appreciated the bumper harvest and some one says it’s too early how? Does it mean some people are not happy with this good outcome of production.Chinyama is instead giving us history of last year’s bad harvest.He is actually talking without saying any thing.
Sorry: two typographic errors noticed in the above submission.The heart of the matter in the topic has not changed.The armed forces complied to the presidential call to join in food production.Thanks.
MULETA.