JB against maize exports

President Joyce Banda on Monday ordered the Police and the Ministry of Agriculture to seal borders to stop maize exports.

The maize is allegedly finding its way out of the country through Karonga into Tanzania and Kenya.

President Banda was speaking when she visited the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) to appreciate the levels of maize at the silos.

She said that her visit to NFRA came after “hearing reports that there is no maize in most Admarc depots countrywide.”

She said there were more than two million people countrywide facing food shortages and that it did not make sense for them to suffer because some unscrupulous individuals were illegally exporting maize.

Banda said: “I have therefore with immediate effect ordered that the Police and the Ministry of Agriculture check and seal our borders against these illegal exports.

“Malawians should not suffer when the Farm Input Subsidy Programme was made available for them to achieve food security.”

The president also disclosed that from last night, trucks had started dispatching maize to various outlets throughout the country.

Banda also gave K400, 000 to male youths and women gathered at the NFRA offices as part of the Christmas and New Year Celebrations and also in appreciation for the hard work that they do.