Copperbelt Mealie-Meal Shortage Worsens
THE shortage of mealie-meal has worsened on the Copperbelt, with most traders running out of stock by 14:00 hours yesterday.
In Kitwe, most known shops and mealie-meal depots ran out of the commodity by midday while some traders that had the commodity took advantage of the situation to hike the prices up to K120 per 25 kilogramme bag.
In Wusakile, a fight ensued at the Wusakile Grounds where one of the traders delivered Antelope mealie-meal and residents that were in a long winding queue jostled to buy the commodity that was being sold at K90.
“We want the government to intervene and end this crisis that has been created on mealie-meal. Women are being kicked on queues, pushed to the ground and others have been injured. This situation is disgusting. We want the government to end this problem. People will kill each other over mealie-meal. Our children are hungry and there is no mealie-meal in our houses,” said Irene Mwale, a Wusakile resident.
In Ndola, the shortage persisted with the commodity now fetching at K140 per 25 kilogramme bag of breakfast.
A check in many outlets found that the commodity had run out.
At Masala Main Market, only one outlet had few stocks that were going at K140 per bag.
“It’s business, there is no supply of the commodity and for us we are cashing in. It is not our problem that there is this shortag,” said a shop owner who declined to be named. In Chingola, there were long queues at Antelope Milling Company depot, Shoprite Checkers and Pick n Pay where residents wrestled among themselves to buy the commodity.
Other shops that sell mealie meal ran out of the commodity three days ago. In markets, traders that had the commodity had exorbitantly hiked prices to K130 per 25 kilogramme bag of breakfast mealie-meal.
Posted by Editor
on April 1, 2016. Filed under LATEST NEWS.
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30 Responses to Copperbelt Mealie-Meal Shortage Worsens
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Mulenga
April 1, 2016 at 12:21 pm
Kopala.com you will starve to death job loses and now no mealie meal
Big Nose
April 1, 2016 at 12:30 pm
its global even in USA and UK its the same pf is working .load shedding luck of medicine in hospitals and losing of pf on 11th august hakainde hichilema its all global
IF NOT
April 1, 2016 at 1:17 pm
Task force intercepted several bags of FRA maize in Chipata as they were trying to load it on a goods train heading for Malawi. Just this week the DC for chingola also confisticated a truck loaded with over 450 bags of mealie meal heading to Congo. So who is behind this artificial mealie meal shortage?????????????? Both culprits in the said incidences could not give satisfactory explanations but were just shaking.
IF NOT
April 1, 2016 at 1:17 pm
Task force intercepted several bags of FRA maize in Chipata as they were trying to load it on a goods train heading for Malawi. Just this week the DC for chingola also confiscated a truck loaded with over 450 bags of mealie meal heading to Congo. So who is behind this artificial mealie meal shortage?????????????? Both culprits in the said incidences could not give satisfactory explanations but were just shaking.
kanayo
April 1, 2016 at 1:48 pm
Enter unip era, the only pipo who can manage to smuggle large quantities of maize are those using govt machinery. so who are the chief culprits? those guys were shaking bcoz well known pipo will be exposed. and who approved and signed for the documents? pipo let’s open our eyes well well.
Martin Jr
April 1, 2016 at 1:50 pm
Akabwali ask Dr KK what happened to him, Pliz bane there is nothing like Pf or Upnd here this has to stop. K140 sure?
kanayo
April 1, 2016 at 1:55 pm
walasa martin jr
Cluds
April 1, 2016 at 2:30 pm
Ati its global lmao even in the usa they hav meali meal shortage lol…..people who say this say it without empirical evidence. I wonder what it will take for people to realize that PF has failed, I think its an emotional case that they dnt want 2 vote for upnd
HMWOCT
April 1, 2016 at 2:56 pm
@If Not.
This illegal trade of mealie meal has been going on for years. Today that is when the govt is realising that shortage is caused by illegal traders?
That is a lame excuse. Why has there been no shortage in previous years?
Use your head..if not.. then…
kambwikis
April 1, 2016 at 4:11 pm
Were are all the comments gone to.These are the topics you need to flood with comments not Hh. Tell us why their is no mealie meal in the country and give us the solutions going forward. AM sure if it was about HH’s being a christian or Dr.Banda’s rental problems the space would have been flooded with comments of hatred for the two individuals.
kanayo
April 1, 2016 at 4:42 pm
true, let’s use our heads and not think with our mouths. sorry ba kopala soon it will be country-wide.
Timbwi
April 1, 2016 at 4:42 pm
@ Big Nose you can make a good comedian. At naku UK it is the same PF. Actually it’s true there is shotage of meali meal too. kikikikiki
Baloteli Senior
April 1, 2016 at 5:04 pm
Let’s be serious, if I cultivate maize it’s my commodity and I should have the choice to sell where I want. It should also be the strategy of the government to buy from farmers and stock it for nations security. A farmer cultivate maize to make profit in order to sustain his family and his farming. Simply put, Government shouldn’t have exported the commodity, they were warned.
Big Nose
April 1, 2016 at 6:04 pm
its global barack obama two term is over so is Edgar lungu’s one year term will be over on 11th august six months each term congrats for fulfilling your two terms ba drunkard lungu go well pf mysriep
Machila k
April 1, 2016 at 6:54 pm
The fact that the maize wss about to be loaded on a gvmnt goods train means it was cleared.And please please dull people get it in your thick dirty brains:the maize was not from FRA.
PF has just failed everyone including themselves.
They will lament over those 2 pins they’r dishing out.The bicycles Pf is giving out will actually enable people arrive early at polling stations to vote them out.You be in opposition by 09:01 hrs.Stuuuuupiiid.Ni chaalo chaanyoko???
Facts
April 1, 2016 at 7:51 pm
The mealie meal shortage on the Copperbelt is highly suspicious. Only this afternoon,I was at Pick and Pay, East Park Mall in Lusaka and bought one bag of Simba Number One Breakfast 25 kg bag at K75. There was not even queue of people scrambling for the mealie meal. Why is there a problem on the Copperbelt with more than ten milling plants in Kitwe and Ndola alone? I am beginning to believe the conspiracy theory that HH and GBM have poured more than 20 million kwacha into the Copperbelt to buy mealie meal in bulk and move it elsewhere and create an artificial shortage that will trigger riots in the province! When a friend told told me about this theory, I was very skeptical. Now I am beginning to think there is some validity to it.
mailon
April 1, 2016 at 9:03 pm
PF got into power because of idiots like you.You think this government that can mobilise a platoon of policemen within an hour to harass even just one opposition leader can fail to curb smuggling?In my view they have dried the nations coffers and since most of them spent their newly found wealth on women,beer and cars have no other way of sustaining their new tests they have resorted to smuggling maize to maintain their thieving ways.The same way you see police watch while PF cadres are terrorising pipo is the same way they have now started watching while mealie meal is being smuggled.Surely if it was the opposition they would be in jail by now.
But I want Edgar to win so that even numbscals like you suffer,then maybe you will start thinking.
open eyes
April 1, 2016 at 9:11 pm
We have said it before.we have evil people in upnd who are doing everything just to make sure people revolt against the government for their selfish interest who want to rule this country.we are aware of this scheme by upnd.The message is clear whether there is shortage of mealie meal or not we are still behind pf because the cows have created a lot of confusions in our country and later blame it on pf.No vote for upnd.
kanayo
April 1, 2016 at 10:13 pm
ba @ facts sure can you be skeptical about such malicious propaganda? why have they failed to arrest any opposition culprits to prove their allegations? that maize intercepted must have papers signed by someone in high offices. my brother it’s not about politics but pipo going hungry regardless of you being pf or upnd. pls let’s use our heads and not think with our mouths.
JJ
April 1, 2016 at 10:41 pm
FOOLS ,FOOLS, FOOLS
JJ
April 1, 2016 at 11:06 pm
LOADSHEDING, SHORTAGE OF MEALIE MEAL, LOSE OF EMPLOYMENT IN MINES AND UNBEARABLE COST OF LIVING THE LIST IS ENDLESS. HOW THE GOVERNMENT RESPONDED TO THESE CHALLENGES 1.CREAT FIVE MORE MINISTRIES. 2.THE PRESIDENT INCREASED HIS WAGE TO AROUND K600000 PER MONTH IN COUNTY WITH DYING ECONOMY. NAME IT. ONLY FOOOOOLS WILL VOTE FOOLISHLY, TIYENI TUVOTEKO INTUNGULUSHI IYAMANO 11/08/2016.THIS IS THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR OUR FUTURE. IF PF WINS 25 KG OF BREAKFAST FAST WILL BE THEN SOLD AT K150 ON 11/09/2016 THIS FOCUS IS BASED ON CURRENT INFLATION RATE.
JJ
April 1, 2016 at 11:09 pm
@ machaka walasa
Klixus
April 2, 2016 at 10:04 am
That’s why some people used to fail even simple questions, wen th article is talking about shortage of m/meal on th c/belt him is referring to lsk.
kabwesha
April 2, 2016 at 10:42 am
PF is not the reason why there is shortage of meali meal in the country its bcoz of selfshness of HH and his Big stomach foolish Bemba person they think when they do this that’s when they can get into Power no ways. Ichikwanka bacimwena kumampalanya how can u keep ur pipo with hunger elo iwe uleikuta when u become a president it will be worse so pipo let’s open our eyes and see.
New Educated Zambia©√
April 2, 2016 at 10:48 am
And you say we have a working government. Bane pf has brought misery and hunger in zambia. Failures always blame others. How can a government with government machinery at disposal fail to stop opposition if opposition was behind the shortage. Wake up you fools
chairman
April 2, 2016 at 1:44 pm
We are all to blame for whatever crisis the country is going through.pf has failed lamentably in almost every sector of our economy starting from fuel shortages,mealie meal,unemployment levels has gone up and and in most cases foreigners are given jobs in preference to Zambians as can be seen at fqml and lumwana,the issue of a good constitution is still an eyesore,massive job losses on the copper belt,police brutality to mention a few.
Judge Joe Bidden
April 2, 2016 at 6:25 pm
Then Edgar goes to sign a signature on a paper and it costs us K4 Million. He will go in our Zambian records as the most failed leader in our history seconded by that RB man. PF should concentrate on how to sort out my people in Copperbelt and stop the nonsense of HH has bought all the mealie meal in Copperbelt even the laws of physics can’t support that mealie meal bags are solids can’t just sublimate into thin air.
Mushebwa
April 2, 2016 at 9:26 pm
Foolishness and childshness admistration. Colonia or Kunda’s govnt where we used 2 go ku ma shop at 0300hrs mukutatamina sugar. In 1991 KK atile those u call me fokofoko akafoka pamala ishita naifika
life experience.
April 3, 2016 at 7:11 am
Let the government send security forcrs to monitor the mills and deliveries and seal off the boarders, sure the can manage that, why cry foul over a few hundred bags on the trucks we are talking about millions of households affected or do we want to say millions of bags are being smungle? Even the bags on the trucks could be staged by pf to try to deceive the nation to look like there is masive smungling of the commodity, while the real factor is that their is no maize. If they can stage defection of membership from upnd to their party what else cant they do? Why all these evils happening only at this time, people let us just acept reality, pf has failed let them not look for smoke screens to hide their shame – just when we thought unip era was gone
life experience.
April 3, 2016 at 8:12 am
@Facts, hh also bought the fuel when there is fuel shatages? That is ridiculous, government has all the security forces to monitor this situation, why should such promising candidate to win presidence risk his carrier to stoep so low as to indulge in such crime to the people intend to serve? I mean upnd has never been so strong as it is now, hh is not so stupid to go thus far – please tell it to the maggots.