Government has been trying to mask the loss of 38,000 tons of maize by pretending it all went bad. The truth is what transporter Smollet Kachere told Malawians, the Tonse Alliance Administration looted the national food reserves.
38,000 tons are worth K11.8bn at official market and more than K15 bm at parallel markets.
At the time Malawians are buying staple food maize at K40,000 per 50kg bag, the highest in living memory, Government said it allowed 10,000 tons of the maize to rot.
Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale has been in the media and Parliament explaining that 10,000 tons had gone bad and can not be consumed by humans.
“But we cannot even sale it to private traders,” the Minister adds. Rotten maize is normally sold to animal food processing companies
Sam Kawale cannot sale the rotten maize because it is not even there. The maize had been looted prior to his predecessor Lobin Lowe closed Admarc abruptly.
“They claim there is 38 000 tons of maize. There is no such maize at Admarc,” Kachere a transporter accused of running away with 13 trucks of maize said in September 2022.
Government insisted the maize was available.
Parliamentarians want proof of rotten maize and Kawale has failed to take the media to see the maize as Admarc warehouses are empty.
“Most of maize was borrowed by contractors related to MCP. Some of the maize went to South Sudan. They found a lot of maize from 2019 to 2020 season and looted it,” said a former Admarc official.
