Government badly mishandled the unga subsidy issue

Consumers accessing the Sh90 per 2kg packet of subsidised maize meal have every reason to thank government for the significant price cut. It is a welcome relief which has effectively punctured the then ballooning ‘unga revolution’ debate.

Be that as it may, numerous gaffes in responding to queries around the subsidy, distribution and real faces of importers left the government with an egg on its face. That it mishandled the cheaper maize matter could be an understatement. Here is why;

Government communication machinery has been disjointed and poorly coordinated right. It had many fronts of communication - from government spokesman Eric Kiraithe, Transport Principal Secretary Mwangi Maringa, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett and his Principal Secretary Mr Richard Lesiyampe to State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu – nearly everyone had his own version.

What was more worse, both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto fell into the Opposition trap and took to responding on the matter at political rallies – trivialising, for instance, the question on the practicability of a shipment from Mexico being received at the port in less than 3 days.

Simply put, the government lost the plot and consistency. It also brought out potential weakness of Mr Bett to handle a delicate ministerial matter although it touched on his colleagues at Treasury and Transport. Kenyans expected a strong and believable statement. They missed it.

Contradictions by Mr Bett and Mr Maringa on the origin of the imports, their source, why the CS was physically present at the port when the ship docked and the unnecessary confusion on whether the imports had been made by government or private sector - did not help matters.

At one time, it was baffling that Mr Bett denied he had gone to the Mombasa Port to receive the maize saying he had wanted to ascertain its quality. He even added that he had gone with quality assessors. With a fully-fledged and better performing Kenya Ports Authority, the move by the first-time minister left tongues wagging.

The cancellation of at least three press conferences by Mr Bett either shows he did not have sufficient information, as he ought to have had, or to be fair for him – he could have been receiving instructions on what to say and when from other quarters.

What is intriguing that the government is yet to confirm the real cause of the maize shortage, which many analysts point to being artificial on account of cartels potentially hoarding the commodity for resale.

baying for blood

No wonder Mr Bett and Mr Lesiyampe had a rough time with the House Agriculture Committee members, literally baying for their blood. The government side was simply unprepared at best and at worst, hid vital information.

It is, for instance, not clear why some millers were buying a 90kg bag of maize at more than Sh4,200 and yet Mr Bett could not disclose what the government was paying millers.

The maize-buying formula seems either too complex or a top secret. At the parliamentary committee hearing, Mr Lesiyampe revealed that government was willing to buy maize from any quarter at the rate of Sh3,600 per 90kg bag and further subsidise it at Sh1,300 per bag.

The question that the duo could equally not answer is - who is the government subsidising – the millers, farmers or consumers? Another one - are there powerful men in government hiding behind private millers to import maize and sell at the price they choose to?

All these questions were equally unanswered by Mr Esipisu in his Sunday press conference. He dismissed critics of the maize flour subsidy and claimed without adducing evidence that the maize flour imports had “stabilized” the price of maize.

As Mr Esipisu spoke, little did he seem to know or care whether the subsidized flour was not only inadequate but had not been sighted in various parts of the country. There is, therefore, no way such a cheaper but grossly inadequate commodity could have “stabilized” the market prices.

Many would have expected Mr Esipisu, the voice of the President, to address glaring questions especially on timely beefing up more supplies and ensuring they reach all corners of the country.

He could have been right to blame the rising food prices on lower yields occasioned by drought. But that is just part of the problem. Do we exactly know what stocks we are holding within the strategic grain reserves? Why does the government offer unreasonable purchase prices to farmers and spend more on imports?

Going forward government needs to review its food security policy and ensure that blue-chip milling firms do not dictate the price of maize flour and other staple foodstuffs.

Emphasis ought to be placed on cutting out middlemen and cartels from mopping up maize from farmers at a throw-away price. It is perhaps time the National Cereals and Produce Board value addition, if any, was reviewed.

Mr Mutoro is Secretary General of the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) [email protected]