By NATION REPORTER
MEALIE meal shortage has hit the City of Ndola with most outlets including chain stores running out of the staple food, causing panic among consumers.
And there was a scramble of mealie meal at the High Court premises on Friday after the court started selling the commodity which had been impounded and forfeited to the State with hundreds of residents scrambling for the commodity which was being sold at K100.
Meanwhile, reports are to the effect that there is a shortage of mealie meal shortages in Lusaka with most towns in Zambia having run out of the 25 kg bags of the commodity.
Many retail shops in Ndola, including Jambo, Shoprite and Pick ‘n’ Pay reportedly having run out of stock and for those that had the commodity, only 10 kg bags were in stock.
Authorities have attributed the shortage of the staple food to traders and milling companies opting to smuggle the commodity to the neighbouring Democratic Republc of Congo (DRC) where the mealie meal is said to be trading at as high the price as K500.
A spot-check at Chimanga Changa Milling Company found a long queue of residents desperately trying to buy the commodity as other millers on Ndola such as Jambo do not have stocks of the staple food.
The check also revealed that those buying mealie meal were restricted to buying one 25-kilogram bag per person, forcing residents to pull along family members so that they could have more than one bag in anticipation of a prolonged shortage.
Sources have revealed that millers have opted to export mealie meal to DRC where it is fetching for about K500 per 25-kilogram bag creating a critical shortage in Ndola which shares a long porous with the DRC.
The Police had earlier on Friday impounded two trucks loaded with about 2, 000 bags of mealie meal which was destined for smuggling to the DRC. The driver of one other truck sped off upon noticing police presence.
The owner of the mealie meal, only identified as Bupe Mutale, 36, has since been apprehended.
Copperbelt Province police commanding officer Peacewell Mweemba said police in Ndola received a report of Assembling for the Purpose of Smuggling near Zambezi Portland Cement in Ndola’s industrial area.
“Brief facts are that on Thursday around 01:50 hours, Inspector Mparo was on patrol together with the Ndola District Anti-smuggling team along Chiwala road, near ZPC when they intercepted three tipper trucks which were suspected to be carrying mealie meal for purposes of smuggling.
“It was at this point that one of the trucks sped off and the team managed to impound two tipper trucks ladden with an unknown number of 25 kg bags of Jambo mealie meal and managed to aprehend the owner of the mealie meal Bupe Mutale,” Mweemba said.
Earlier in the week police intercepted other trucks carrying about 1000 bags of mealie meal as attempts by millers and traders to export mealie meal to DRC escalate.
And a check by the daily nation indicated that most shops and super markets did not have 25 kg bags of mealie meal which has caused panic amongst Zambians.
And Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) who also conducted a tour of supermarkets said that agriculture minister Reuben Mtolo Phiri needed to put in measures that could help rectify the problem.