Former UDA Deputy chairman and former Agriculture minister, under President Mwai Kibaki’s first cabinet, Kipruto Arap Kirwa has blamed President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto for the high prices of maize and flour crisis that is currently rocking the country.
According to him, the National Cereals and Produce Board is not to blame for the current crisis as the institution is just a victim which has been on the receiving end.
Speaking during a panel discussion at Citizen TV, Kirwa said that President Uhuru and his deputy failed in formulating policies, some years back, that would have cushioned Kenyans against the current woes. He faulted the government for for not restricting excessive importation of maize at the expense of local farmers.
“That is why it is common knowledge and it is not a crime to import maize from Tanzania or from Uganda because there is a certain percentage that is known as cross border business that takes place throughout the year whether the government does import or other institutions including individuals . This borders are porous. We don’t have any restrictions 100% for people to go to Tanzania and import maize,” Kirwa said.
Aside from that, he noted that the government failed to purchase a bigger percentage of maize harvested in the country some years back at good prices and storing it in better storage facilities to ensure that there is a sustainable food security.
“Under NCPB, you can store, under optimal conditions up to five years maize, but if you leave it(maize) to the farmers, the post harvest losses for farmers is up to 30%,” the former minister noted
Kirwa further pointed out some of the flaws of his successor in the Agriculture ministry, DP Ruto, that ruined NCPB. He said that those are things that should be looked at to solve the problem once and for all. Ruto became Agriculture minister in 2008. During his tenure the ministry witnessed a number of scandals.
“When I left the Ministry, we had 8 million bags under NCPB. Within one year when William Ruto the minister, that maize was sold recklessly to some funny millers. That is what occasioned his transfer from the Ministry of Agriculture to Higher Education,” Kirwa argued.
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