Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Dr. Kondwani Nankhumwa, has warned that he will hold President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera responsible for any loss of life to hunger.
The warning follows an intention by Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) to proceed with the sale of 100,000 metric tonnes of maize to Grain Millers of Zimbabwe despite many experts advising against the move.
Recently, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Sosten Gwengwe, assured Malawians that the maize would not be sold.
In a letter addressed to Chakwera dated June 8, 2022 which we have seen, Nankhumwa said if Admarc goes ahead with the plan, he will have no choice but to seek legal redress on behalf of the people of Malawi should this sale of maize go ahead.
“Mr. President, you may be well aware that many experts, as well as ordinary Malawians, are against this sale of maize by Admarc precisely because all indications are that many households are likely to face hunger this year due to an anticipated low yield.
“This anticipated low yield is as a result of the problematic Agricultural Inputs Programme (AIP), which included the unavailability of farm inputs such as UREA fertilizer on the market. The rainfall was erratic and the recent cyclones ‘Anna’ and ‘Gombe’ compounded the already desperate situation, negatively affecting our agricultural output this season.
“Mr. President, it defies logic, therefore, for Admarc to go ahead and sell 100,000 tonnes of maize under a cloud of such downgraded food security expectation.
“As Leader of Opposition in Parliament, I feel duty-bound to humbly call upon Your Excellency to exercise your Executive leadership and stop the Board of Directors of Admarc from selling this maize forthwith because doing so would be putting the lives of many Malawians in danger.
“Mr. President, the 50KG bag of maize is now already selling at K15, 000 and one cannot imagine how much the same bag would cost in the next few months, especially in the case of maize unavailability at Admarc,” reads part of the letter
Nankhumwa said it is a fact that food security in this country is largely determined by the availability and accessibility of maize.
“The staple crop is consumed by almost all Malawians on a daily basis. As the Head of State and Government, your primary responsibility is to ensure that Malawians are food-secure aside protecting them from other socio-economic challenges.
“Let me; therefore, warn Your Excellency that the opposition shall hold you personally responsible for any loss of life to hunger as a result of the sale of this maize. I also wish to state unequivocally that I will have no choice but to seek legal redress on behalf of the people of Malawi should this sale of maize go ahead,” said.
On Tuesday, the Agriculture Committee of Parliament asked Admarc to suspend the Zimbabwe maize sale deal.
Chairperson of the committee Sameer Suleiman said most parts of the country such as Likoma have been asking Admarc to provide them with maize for people to buy, but the Corporation has been ignoring the calls.
Reports indicate that Board Chairperson Kusamba Zonzi signed the deal without the knowledge of the management.
