Cherangany Member of Parliament Joshua Kutuny has claimed that cartels are behind a low price of maize that was recently approved by the Cabinet.
In a post on his official Facebook page, the Jubilee lawmaker said initially the government had purposed to buy a 90-kilogram bag of maize at Sh3,300 from farmers.
He, however, said cartels in the Agriculture sector lobbied government t officials to slash Sh1,000 in each bag of maize so that the funds can be channelled to the purchase of subsidized fertilizers.
"We have information that already some cartels have imported several thousand tons of fertilizers into the country which are lying at the port of Mombasa as they plot to sell the commodity to the government through the subsidy programme," claimed the MP in the Facebook post.
The MP now wants President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and order an upward review of the maize price from Sh2,300 to Sh3,600 per bag.
"At the same time, I am appealing to the Head of State not to give in to pressure by the cartels pushing for the money slashed from funds that were initially allocated towards purchasing maize diverted to fund the fertilizer subsidy programme. Maize farmers do not require fertilizers now as they were in the process of harvesting their crop awaiting purchase by the National Cereals and Produce Board," he pointed out.
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