PAC URGES MUTHARIKA TO STOP POLITICIZING MAIZE: ‘LET FOOD BE FOOD’

As Malawians continue to spend a sleepless night in search for Maize due to the hunger situation in the country, Public Affairs Committee (PAC) has urged the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) under President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika to stop politicizing maize.

The remarks follow the recent meeting PAC held in the commercial capital Blantyre aimed at finding solutions to the challenges the country is going through.

During the meeting delegates proposed a number of issues and one of it being the resignation of President Mutharika, saying he has failed to run the affairs of the nation.

But in a statement made available to Faceofmalawi disclosing some of the resolutions PAC has made from the meeting, the body has disregarded the call for Mutharika’s resignation and just asked him to stop politicizing maize.

“Let food be food,” reads the statement in part signed by PAC Chairman Felix Chingota.

In the statement, Chingota called upon government to make maize accessible in ADMARC depots NOW and not in 30 days – and the maize must be sufficiently delivered in Markets to control the skyrocketing prices.

“The government should stop misguiding Malawians about the availability of maize. In this regard, PAC calls upon the public to be vigilant on both the availability and accessibility of maize,” said Chingota.

PAC has also called upon government to immediately put in place mechanisms for restocking maize to counter the forthcoming hunger.

“Though there might be some harvest of maize , reports indicate that it will not be adequate to satisfy the country as a whole. In this regard, we call upon parliament to discuss funding during their current sitting to ensure that maize is available in the country throughout the year,” he said.

Added Chingota: “Government should guarantee the price for maize so that farmers benefit from their work. To this end, PAC also calls upon government to mechanize farming and put it on commercial basis. This would require revisiting the agricultural policy by putting people in clusters to create more space for mechanized commercial farming.”

PAC further calls upon government to re-establish farmers clubs as centres of excellence and farmers networks for collective financial and resource mobilisation.