The National Treasury has requested assistance from parliament in investigating the Sh4 billion paid to millers from last year’s maize subsidy program, which will likely cause a delay in making the payment to the processors.
According to Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’ u, the government is unable to identify the companies that received the Sh4 billion that was allegedly paid to millers. Meanwhile, processors claim that they are owed another Sh4 billion by the government.
Prof. Ndung’ u told the House Budget Appropriations Committee on Monday, ” Parliament should assist us to probe the Sh4 billion subsidy money because we do not have the capacity to handle it ourselves as it might have a political perspective. ” The subsidy program has taken a political turn, with some questioning whether or not the intended recipients were reached.
This has prompted calls for further research into the matter. The Sh8 billion subsidy was put in place by former President Uhuru Kenyatta to bring down the high price of flour, which had risen to almost Sh250 for a two-kilogram package, thus the government now owes money to millers as a result. The plan brought the price of the staple down to Sh100.
It was widely believed that the subsidy scheme had been initiated as a means of influencing the election outcome. There was a shortage of the product in stores as a result of the exercise, which limited millers to selling flour for Sh100 for a two-kilogramme packet.
This comes at a time when millers have been asking the Ministry of Agriculture for Sh4 billion since last August to settle the government’s debt to them for the flour they dumped onto the market during the subsidy regime. Harsama Kellow, principal secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, has stated that the issue is currently the responsibility of the Treasury.
