Shameless Millers are Robbing Poor Kenyans – Chepkwony, Proprietor Jamii Unga

Amina Faki

A miller based in Eldoret has said that Kenyan millers should be selling maize flour at a maximum price of 120 shillings for the two kilogram packet.

This is in disagreement with his counterparts who have maintained on persisting on higher prices till the end of June prior to the arrival of imported maize.

A single two kilogram of maize flour is currently retailing at 144 shillings, having risen from an average of 122 shillings last month.

According to Joshua Chepkwony, the proprietor of Jamii Unga, the government is selling maize from the Strategic Grain Reserves (SGR) at a price of 3,000 shillings. After production, a 2KG packet sells between 106 shillings and 108 shillings.

He added that anybody who is retailing maize at more than 120 shillings for the 2KG packet is dishonest and robbing poor Kenyans.

Mr. Chepkwony said that millers should be honest and considerate at this time of hardship and stop seeing the current difficulties as an opportunity to make abnormal profits. Adding that maize from the strategic reserves are still available, insisting that shameless millers and traders have taken advantage of the market and are harnessing tax benefits and the government had offered to deal with maize flour crisis.

Large company millers have their own take on the matter; they say that the government had allocated 450,000 bags of cheaper maize in early April which was enough to cater for 12 days.