Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi has given millers a 7 day ultimatum to import maize or have their duty-free importation licenses revoked.
The CS, while meeting millers at his Nairobi office on Tuesday, accused a section of them of exporting imported duty free grain to some neighboring countries, to maximize profits.
Linturi accused some millers of hawking their duty free licenses as they lacked financial muscle to import the grain.
“Next week on 30th, those people that will not have given us proof that there’s something we’re waiting for, then all those licenses will not be valid,” said CS Linturi.
“Some of you are exporting maize and rice to South Sudan and Tanzania. As we sit here, we have even impounded some of these commodities under our custory,” he said.
Last week the CS promised to summon over 20 local maize millers to find out why they are yet to lower the prices of their respective unga brands.
“I have called all of the maize millers who are beneficiaries for a meeting on Friday because whatever revenue the government is going to lose by way of import duty must be reflected in the reduction of the price of that commodity in the market,” he said.
The government remains non-committal on the more than Ksh.3 billion it owes millers through the maize subsidy programme during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime.