Reagan Kashinga, Copperbelt Provincial Spokesperson for the Socialist Party (SP), has strongly criticized the Zambia National Service’s (ZNS) participation in the importation and exportation of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) mealie meal. This condemnation follows the recent report of over 200 bags of GMO mealie meal being stolen from a ZNS storage facility at the Kasumbalesa Border Post in Chililabombwe.
In a media statement, Mr. Kashinga expressed shock at the revelation that GMO mealie meal, originally intended for export to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), had made its way into the local market. He raised suspicions of a syndicate’s involvement in the ZNS mealie meal business, questioning how the alleged thieves managed to breach the heavily guarded ZNS storage facility.
“We want to categorically state that the whole episode of ZNS exporting mealie meal is questionable, and we suspect a syndicate is behind this business. How did the alleged thieves break into one of the strongly protected ZNS storage facilities housing imported Eagle’s mealie meal meant for export to the DRC?” Mr. Kashinga remarked.
He called upon the ZNS command to swiftly trace the stolen GMO mealie meal before it could be repackaged and distributed within Zambia. While acknowledging ZNS’s role in meeting local demand for mealie meal during crises, Mr. Kashinga asserted that importing and exporting mealie meal was not within the organization’s core mandate. He urged ZNS to leave such activities to private Zambian suppliers, highlighting concerns about potential ulterior motives behind the ZNS’s involvement in the mealie meal trade.
“This incident has just confirmed that ZNS has been feeding our people with imported GMO mealie meal instead of utilizing its milling plants. There is no doubt that this dubious mealie meal trade by people abusing ZNS has resulted in the people of Zambia consuming imported GMO mealie meal unknowingly,” Mr. Kashinga lamented.
Mr. Kashinga cautioned against what he described as a government led by “sophisticated businessmen” whose interests, he claimed, were primarily self-enrichment rather than the welfare of the nation. The Socialist Party remains steadfast in its stance against what it perceives as corrupt practices within the government.