Using the Posioned Maize Crisis to fight Perceived Political Enemies- a Cheap and Low Blow
…and who is going to be held accountable for allowing poisons to be fed to consumers? Who will be fired for risking lives of Zambians and its animals? Who is responsible for the deaths that have occurred now? Who will pay the price of this criminal negligence?…
By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
The Minister of Health Dr. Elijah Muchima was very clear. Of the mealie-meal brands on the market, 10 were found with aflatoxins, levels that were dangerous to human health capable of causing immediate liver and kidney sickness, and future cancers and death.
Diamond television had been on this case demonstrating that Government was aware that 400 dogs had already died and contaminated maize products and mealie-meal had been on the market since June 2024.
But Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary, Thabo Kawana released a list of only eight companies as culpable for the contaminated mealie-meal.
Ministry of Defence Permanent Secretary, Norman Chipakupaku proceeded to comically affirm that the ZNS Brand, Eagle, was safe for human consumption, by making a video of him having lunch with alleged mealie-meal from ZNS.
For the last one year, ZNS has been producing mealie-meal with maize from unkown place. Further ZNS was embroiled and involved in the importation of both genetically modified (GMO) maize and mealie-meal from South Africa and when caught, claimed it was imports, in transit to the DRC.
Further when the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) opened the maize grain marketing season in April 2024, we warned that the reasons the season is historically opened in July and August, was to allow maize with safe levels of mositure content to be bought and stored to avoid moulds and aflatoxins.
Government claimed there was no maize in the country and needed the maize even in that state for emergency response to the food insecurity.
Government is importing 650,000 metric tonnes of maize from Tanzania whose storage facilities and its two rainfall seasons in a year, make it highly susceptible to maize infected with aflatoxins as shown by Kenya returning imports from Tanzania because it contained high aflatoxins.
If there is any brand therefore we should therefore doubt, it’s that coming from ZNS and DMMU that have been beneficiaries of maize from FRA, South Africa and Tanzania.
Now we have been informed that open trucks that carry copper will be transporting maize to Zambia!
Further ZNS has also been hiring various private milling plants to produce and attempt to meet the demand for their mealie-meal brand.
Therefore, ZNS is more susceptible to have contamined mealie-meal than any other producer on the market.
Koswe, a rogue media run by State House proceeded to weave a conspiracy and scandalise the millers they perceive are associated with the former ruling Party, a dirty and low blow.
Its important that laboratory tests for all brands including Zambia National Service Eagles brand, for both “breakfast” and “roller” mealie-meal are done in a transparent and obejective manner and the results are made public.
And who is going to be held accountable for allowing poisons to be fed to consumers? Who will be fired for risking lives of Zambians and its animals? Who is responsible for the deaths that have occurred now? Who will pay the price of this criminal negligence?
Mwamba is very funny, he picks one batch which was certified well out of several and wants to cheat as per his specialisation.One clearance certificate means all are cleared.You may sympathize with this wicked man.
This man is a seditionist. The investigative wings need to do exactly what you suggest. Pick all the dicuments. Investigate.
Already he lied about ZNBS, he also lied about Zesco. That is a primea facea sedition case. Facts we want but dont report to sway a narrative.
Cheap dirty politics. Can Mwamba publish where and when and number of dogs that died.first an MP says he was almost poisoned then there comes the mealie meal and dog food saga. Is this the new gassing?