LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s civil rights group, Centre for Democracy & Economic Initiative (CDEDI) on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, petitioned Parliament to suspend relevant standing orders and deliberate and pass an emergency maize Bill.
This comes amid looming hunger over the scarcity of maize across the country.
Speaking after delivering the petition, CDEDI Executive Director, Silvester Namiwa hinted that through the Bill, government should engage Illovo Sugar Malawi and Salima Sugar companies, and other large-scale commercial farmers to grow maize through irrigation.
He added that there should also be an initiative to tap underground water to enable prison facilities to engage in irrigation farming.
Namiwa delivered the petition to the chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Sameer Suleman
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He added, “Those in the lakeshore districts should be provided solar pumps or canals to grow maize. Given that most Malawians are yet to adopt alternatives to maize, it is imperative to increase production of the staple food.”
Namiwa said the demand follows revelations that the current maize situation in the country is a disaster-in-waiting: “The country has maize that will only last two months if it were to be supplied nationwide.”
Added Namiwa, “With 91% of employable Malawians being jobless, coupled with the effects of Cyclone Freddy; and drought in the case of Karonga – given that the Tonse Alliance administration set the minimum price of maize at K500 a kilogram, translating to K25,000 per 50-kilogram bag, millions cannot afford the staple food.
“At the prevailing K50,000 minimum wage, the majority of Malawians. We can also not afford to buy the maize. This is so bearing in mind that while the staple food is selling at about K35,000 per 50kg bag in the Central Region, in some parts of the Southern Region, the same bag is fetching between K50,000 and K55,000.”
Namiwa observed that government has no choice but to release the maize to all parts of the country and at the same time reduce the minimum price by half.
Similarly, he said, a social protection mechanism should be put in place to ensure that the ultra-poor receive free food.
Instead of pressing the panic button or softening regulations on maize imports, CDEDI is imploring the August House to deliberate the maize Bill, saying rationing maize will only worsen the situation, while importation is not an option given the acute shortage of forex in the country.
Namiwa, through his organization, however, implored the Leader of the Opposition, Kondwani Nankhumwa to facilitate tabling of the maize Bill.
Receiving the petition, Suleman said the petition has a very strong message which needs to be supported.
“Malawians are now starving due to natural challenges. There is a shortage of maize across the country,” he said, adding that prices of maize have gone up such that the majority of Malawians cannot afford it.
President Lazarus Chakwera’s Tonse Alliance government is yet to provide maize to Admarc across the country.
