Maravi

Nkombo reveals suppliers of rejected GMO maize

Nkombo reveals suppliers of rejected GMO maize
Written by Allan Mulenga and Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Sunday, February 08, 2009 7:58:22 PM

MAZABUKA UPND member of parliament Garry Nkombo has said the Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) maize which was rejected by Food Reserve Agency (FRA) was supplied by GIA International and Mark Daniels Zambia Limited.And agriculture minister Dr Brian Chituwo yesterday rebuked FRA executive director Dr Anthony Mwanaumo for referring all queries on GMO maize to him, saying he was not FRA spokesperson.

Briefing the press on Friday, Nkombo challenged home affairs minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa to quickly institute investigations, so as to establish people who were behind the two companies engaged for the supply of maize.

"We have declared the matter a scandal and we therefore, challenge Dr Kalombo Mwansa to find out who GIA International and Mark Daniels Zambia Limited are and their associates in the country because we shall not accept a situation where people close to the corridors of powers would want to benefit at the expense of poor Zambians," he said.

Nkombo hoped that no money had been wasted through the importation of GMO maize.

"It is extremely important because the food we eat forms part of our life. We have heard that Choma Milling Company has suspended its operations because of shortage of maize and there have been reports of mealie-meal shortages in major towns of the country," he said.

Nkombo said the government was to blame for the deficit in the staple food in the nation; saying they could have sourced non-GMO maize from other countries.

And Dr Chituwo said it was the duty of FRA to release information on the GMO maize importation as they were the implementing arm of the government.

"My advice is get to FRA. We make policy and they are our implementing arm. This whole process is in implementation stage and Dr Mwanaumo will be able to ably update you," Dr Chituwo said.

When reminded that Dr Mwanaumo had vehemently refused to comment on the matter insisting that only the agriculture minister could make a statement on the matter, Dr Chituwo said: "But how can you believe him? He is not my boss, but now he is directing me to be his spokesperson? Let me talk to him then I will get back to you."

By press time yesterday, Dr Mwanaumo could not be reached as his mobile phone went unanswered.

Meanwhile, Patriotic Front (PF) spokesperson Given Lubinda observed that the current scandal on the importation of 35,000 metric tonnes of GMO maize clearly showed that the country would see more scandals in President Rupiah Banda's administration than in the Frederick Chiluba regime.

Lubinda challenged Dr Chituwo to clearly state the circumstances under which the maize was imported rather than referring the matter to FRA.

"But when government enters into under hand methods when they are caught, they fail to disclose what their course of action will be," Lubinda said. "At the rate things are going, we are bound to see even bigger scandals than the ones we ever saw in Chiluba days. The Rupiah Banda regime has been in office for less than 100 days but we have heard of so many scandals. You saw today in your newspaper the story you carried about the minister deciding to go against the advice of the Attorney General's chambers...we are bound to see more scandals than this country has ever seen."

Lubinda also challenged Dr Chituwo to admit the GMO maize scandal and not to put the blame on FRA.

"FRA is an agency of the government of the Republic of Zambia and they perform the functions of the Minister of Agriculture and there is no way the minister can say that he is not able to comment because he is not the spokesperson of FRA," Lubinda said. "FRA is just an agent and therefore the minister has all powers to comment. It is his duty. When FRA comments, they are actually commenting on behalf of the minister. So he [Dr Chituwo] should not run away from his responsibilities and putting the blame on the shoulders of FRA. That is not correct. The minister should own up."

Lubinda also warned of massive shortages of mealie-meal in the country owing to the manner in which the maize importation was being handled.

"I do not know but I am very sure that once you follow this up, it won't be shocking that there are some big shots involved in this deal," said Lubinda. "We didn't hear of the government change on the position on GMO products. As a result of attempts by this company to cheat the Zambian people by bringing cheaper GMO maize under the guise that it is non-GMO, there is going to be a huge shortage of maize and therefore mealie-meal in Zambia will go up purely because of the greed of the people who were contracted to bring in non-GMO maize."

Last Friday, FRA board chairman Costain Chilala disclosed that over 75 per cent of the 35,000 metric tonnes of maize imported last week by the agency had been sent back to South Africa because it was GMO type.

Chilala claimed that all the trucks that had GMO maize had been sent back to South Africa where it was sourced. However, Chilala could not state the exact quantity of maize that had been sent back.

Labels: GARY NKOMBO, GMO, KALOMBO MWANSA, MAIZE

posted by MrK @ 7:57 PM