. Mwanakatwe
By STEVEN ZANDE –
Government will continue to implement strict measures that will result in a significant reduction of mealie-meal prices so that every citizen can afford to buy the staple food.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said Government’s resolve was to ensure that prices of mealie-meal did not exceed K65 per 25 kilogramme bag.
Ms Mwanakatwe said this yesterday when she commissioned a 10-tonne milling plant in Bauleni Township in Lusaka.
The milling plant, established under the Presidential Solar Milling Plant programme, would produce 25 kilogramme bags of mealie-meal which will cost K65 each.
The minister said the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had supplied 600 bags of maize to the facility which enabled the plant to start operations upon commissioning yesterday.
She said consumers should not panic about food security because the FRA had enough maize to feed the population up to the next farming season.
Ms Mwanakatwe said the high demand for Zambian maize and maize products was an opportunity for private investors to invest in agriculture because the country had a favourable rainfall pattern.
She said Zambia was better-placed to supply the local and foreign markets because neighbouring countries were willing to import the maize and its products.
The milling plant commissioned by Ms Mwanakatwe yesterday was the second such facility to be established in Bauleni Township.
