President Uhuru Kenyatta has set the maximum retail price of a 2-kilogramme packet of maize flour in Kenya at Sh100.
During his address to the nation at State House on Wednesday, July 20, Uhuru said that a 2kg packet of maize flour will now retail at a maximum of Sh100 across the country.
“This programme of a subsidy of approximately Sh105 per 2kg pack of maize meal is meant to lower the cost of living for vulnerable households as we look for a sustainable solution to the recurrent rising prices of unga every election,”Uhuru said.
He stated that the subsidy was the result of a deal struck between the government and maize millers registered with the Agricultural Food Authority after days of negotiations.
Even after the government announced a subsidy for the product to retail at Sh100 on Monday, maize flour prices remained above Sh200 until Wednesday.
The millers claimed this was due to a lack of clarity on how the government would pay them to maintain the Sh100 per two-kilo packet.
Uhuru stated that the agreement reached with millers to reduce the cost of the staple meal includes the suspension of the railway development levy on all imported maize.
He also stated that the import declaration fee (IDF) on all imported maize has been suspended, lowering the price of a 2kg packet of maize flour from Sh205 to Sh100.
The President thanked the millers for seeing the importance of accepting the deal and ensuring Kenyans live within their means.
Kenyatta also warned election candidates against politicizing unga prices, claiming that the high cost of living is a global issue rather than a crisis created by the government.
The president also accused millers of hoarding maize flour in order to sell it at a higher price.
This pattern, he said, was common in Kenya leading up to general elections, citing the 2013 and 2017 elections as examples.
According to him, the price of a 2-kg packet of maize flour increased from Sh70 to Sh130 in the run-up to the March 4, 2013, General Election.
According to him, the price of a 2-kg pack of maize flour increased from Sh100 to Sh189 in 2017.
“Every election in this country has attracted ‘unga crisis’. In fact, there seem to be an engineered connection between elections and the high prices of unga. There is an obvious trend between the manner the price of unga goes up and the tempo taken by the election,” he said.
“Is this the result of a market dynamic or is it a deliberate outcome? This question must be posed and put to rest.”
