Ugali and Politics; an expensive, unnecessary mix that harms the poor

By Vincent Obadha

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday directed that the price of a 2kg packet of maize flour be lowered to Ksh.100 from Ksh.205 across the country.

Addressing the Nation from State House Nairobi, the president said the move is part of the government's stimulus programme aimed at cushioning Kenyans from the current high cost of living.

The Head of State said the price of Ksh.100 for a 2kg packet of Unga will take effect immediately until further notice.

President Kenyatta further questioned the relationship between elections and the unusual price hike of maize flour.

Here are instances when politics and prices of unga have mixed with negative consequences.

The same politics of Ugali in 2017

On May 24, 2017, the media reported that the government had unveiled a Ksh.6 billion ($58.14 million) maize subsidy program to lower the unit cost of flour to Ksh.90 after it shot up to around Ksh.136 owing to scarcity. 

As the grain scarcity persisted, government officials said that more maize would be imported to avert a crisis. In the ensuing weeks, many more tonnes of maize were brought in from Uganda and Tanzania to stabilise the maize availability and prices.

The Duty-Free maize importation window is open

The maize floor subsidy normally comes after the state opens the Duty-Free Maize Importation Window. On May 20, 2022, the National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani through a gazette notice opened a three-month window to import up to 540,000 metric tons of white maize to avert shortage and allow maize imports from outside the East African Community to offer reprieve to consumers. 

A top official from the Ministry of Agriculture had earlier said the imports would be restricted to what is needed by those who would be licensed to avoid shipping in excessive stocks by unscrupulous traders.

Normally, the duty-free imports would be expected to take pressure off the staple grain prices given that the harvest season is less than two months away.

The government also claimed that some farmers were hoarding their produce to further push up the prices and that the duty-free window would force them to release their stock. How strange that Kenyan maize farmers could shoot themselves in the leg.

The maize importation cartels

However, for those in the know, this is the season for the well-heeled and networked wheeler-dealers who make a killing out of “surprise” government duty-free grain importation windows.

How lucky can one get, every election cycle they are given a chance to bring in duty-free produce to “avert a food crisis” such as maize, wheat, and also sugar as witnessed under the Moi regime, and in the process walk away into the shadows with literally, billions! 

It might as well be that within the next few weeks, there will be a Bulk Carrier Ship filled with maize at our Kilindini port ready for discharge. This means that before the gazette notice got published, some substantial maize cargo was already on the high seas and all we are asked is to believe in savvy business moves, good timing, and good luck!  The weird stories of the KEMSA corruption scandal beneficiaries having been asked to bid as they innocently passed by the roadside minding their business is still fresh in our minds.

The Senate lays bare what is at the heart of the politics of Ugali.

In 2018, the Senate Ad-hoc Committee Report on the maize crisis, tabled in Parliament a damning report that incriminated government officials and their private-sector counterparts for abusing the government maize subsidy program in 2017 to make money, leading to distortions in the market.

The Senate Committee report said that the maize crisis in 2017 led to the flooding of duty-free maize imported into the country. That it was a ploy by both the public and private sector players to profit from distortion of the maize value chain.

Strangely the committee did not identify by name those it said profited from it.

Is the cyclical scarcity of maize (flour) a necessary evil?

On May 24, 2022, the Finance Committee in Parliamentary shot down an increase in taxes targeting maize and wheat flour. This, however, now looks like a case of too little too late.

Kenyans are left to wonder how many more parliamentary committee reports will have to be tabled before action is taken on those involved in subverting the public good.

The 2018 Senate Ad-hoc Committee Report on the Maize Crisis found out that whereas there was an approval of the importation of only 6 million bags of maize for the subsidy program, what was imported was over 10 million bags of maize.

The subsidised maize that docked in Mombasa had no evidence of quantum, quality, value, and inspection reports tabled to support their validity for human consumption contrary to the outlines vide the Gazette notice no. 3575 of April 13, 2017.

Playing politics with Ugali

This week, one side of the political divide wondered aloud how come the government was giving an ‘Ugali flour subsidy' now yet a few weeks back had blamed the crisis on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Other political analysts placed the blame on the Executive and the Legislature, saying the damage that happened to the economy in the past seven years would not have been possible without parliament’s cooperation and approval.

We can make this right, ensure food security

Less than sufficient rain has been reported in most parts of the country further dampening the prospects of stable maize supply and pricing for this precious staple food commodity.

This sets the country up for a perennial food crisis despite having institutions that should plan and implement programs to assure food security for Kenyans at all times. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is having an adverse contribution to an already precarious situation. 

The lack of consistency and coherence in government policy on food security is wanting. The Government should put in place controls and policies over staple food items to ensure they hedge them against extremities, especially over the long term. This will protect the poor and the vulnerable from exploitation and want as staple food prices swing back and forth.

Politics in Kenya take center stage even on matters so serious as food security, to the very detriment of the people that sober politics should offer solutions.