CS Willy Bett.Photo/nation.co.ke
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett has denied claims that the government has is colluding with cartels to hoard maize, sugar, and milk to manipulate market prices.
Speaking on Friday in Mombasa, Bett said the event that led to the price of maize hitting Sh150 for a 2kg packet, sugar Sh370 for the same quantity and milk Sh80 for 500ml, was purely natural.
“The opposition say the government is colluding with cartels so that we can generate money for campaigns. I will excuse anybody who says that,” he said.
“What is happening now is to try to sort out the problem of Kenyans. This [importation of maize] is the only way we can help Kenyans reduce the prices.”
He was speaking when 30,000 metric tonnes of maize from Mexico arrived in the country.
“We want to get out of this perception that whenever anything is happening it is because of personal gain... we need to prove we are credible,” he said.
Bett said that maize prices will drop in the next two weeks.