Why Would The Government Give Wrong Figures On The Cost Of Unga?

We have been accused that as Business Writers and Analysts, we shouldn’t talk about politics. That we should focus on talking about the numbers and the economy. But what happens when the politics are messing up the numbers and the economy that we are supposed to be talking about?

Unga is an emotive issue in Kenya. At one point, the country almost had a revolution known as the “Unga Revolution.” When the price of unga goes up, every Kenyan, the poor, the imaginary middle-class, and the rich feel the heat. Only filthy rich politicians don’t.

Unga is so emotive that it formed a campaign agenda during the last general election. President William Ruto used it as a rallying call and told his supporters and Kenyans, that within 100 days of his rule, the price of unga will go down to at least 200 shillings for a 2-kilogram packet.

Related Content: Millers Complain Over Delayed Subsidized Unga Payments

The price has not come down. And last week, President William Ruto told Kenyans that starting this week, the price of unga would go down. Of course, Kenyans cheered and celebrated. And as the week snails on, eyes have been on the supermarket shelves, monitoring the price of unga.

Then the unthinkable happened. Led by Statehouse Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, senior government officials have been sharing images of unga “whose prices have dropped” purported to be from major supermarkets across the country.

A check across supermarkets has shown that the figures and images being peddled around by government officials and their supporters are wrong. The price of a 2-kilogram packet is still retailing at 190 shillings and 205 shillings. Some brands are as high as 230 shillings.

Some of the images flying around have been altered while some are from supermarkets that are giving discounts. So, was the government promising Kenyans a discount from supermarkets or a true price dropdown for unga? It appears Ruto meant discounts.

Related Content: Government To Hunt Down Traders Hoarding Subsidized Unga

A section of millers has come out to dispute the information that they have reduced the price of their products. They say the government still owes them at least 1.2 billion shillings for the previous subsidy on unga. They claimed that they are still buying maize at higher prices and there is no way they can lower the prices unless they start running charities.