Government to jail anyone selling Unga above Sh90

david nganga

May 29, 2017 9:55 AM

Retailers caught selling a 2kg packet of subsidized maize flour above Sh90 risk being..

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The government has issued a stern warning to anyone found selling a 2kg packet of subsidized maize flour above the recommended price of Sh90.

Retailers caught selling a two kg packet of subsidized maize flour above Sh90 now risk being fined Sh1 million or facing a five-year jail term.

Also read: Kenyans breath a sigh of relief after Unga prices drastically drops

This is after the publication of a gazette notice giving legal backing for State control of sifted maize flour costs and marks the first time the order has been issued under a law passed in 2011 allowing price control of essential goods.

The prices of maize flour had experienced a sharp increase due to the recent drought to which the government announced subsidies of Sh6 billion to maize importers to help lower the cost of flour.

The law guiding the order was backed in a gazette notice labelled the Price Control (Essential Goods) (Sifted White Maize Meal) Order, 2017.

“A person who contravenes the provisions of this Act commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to bot,” stated the order.

The gazette notice comes at a time when there has been a shortage of the subsidized maize flour and millers insist that the scarcity will persist until early June when staple food will be available after the arrival of 445 000 bags of cheap Mexican grains.

Also read: 3 reasons why Kenyans think the government's cheap Unga is too good to be true

The Cereal Millers Association (CMA) stated that it was unable to meet demand of the subsidized flour given the shortage of supply, terming the 335, 000 bags of cheap Mexican maize imported on May 9 as inadequate.

david nganga