Procedures used during the maize subsidy program are questionable, says CS Linturi.
Millers who supplied subsidized maize flour during the sunset days of the previous government will seemingly wait much longer before their Sh2.5 billion debts are settled.
According to Agriculture and Livestock Development CS Mithika Linturi, the documents presented to his office are yet to convince him that the right procedures were followed during the maize flour subsidy program.
“Having looked at the documents submitted by the different millers, I am left to question the procedures followed during the maize subsidy program”, said the CS.
Speaking during an interview at Citizen TV on Thursday, Linturi added that the whole process was politically instigated, as the money used could not be accounted for.
“The maize subsidy was supposed to be felt and we didn’t see it anywhere, I personally didn’t feel it or should I assume I wasn’t a targeted beneficiary,” said Linturi.
The private millers under Cereal Millers Association, appearing before the Agriculture committee in Parliament on March 14, 2023, cautioned the government risks paying more as a result of the incessant delays, revealing that the amount has so far attracted Sh269 million interest for the six months that the payment has been due.
According to CMA, they supplied Sh4.49 billion worth of subsidized maize flour to the market and only received Sh1.95 billion as payment leaving a balance of Sh2.58 billion outstanding to date.
During the parliamentary probe, Soy MP David Kiplagat accused the millers of allowing themselves to be used to play politics in 2022, stating that instead of the maize prices dropping during the subsidy period, it only ended up creating a shortage in the market.
“Your association was being used to achieve a political end, how can we prove that the consumer consumed those maize flour?” the Soy MP said.
