ZNS EAGLE MEALIE MEAL A SCANDAL
…Stephen Kampyongo warns Mtolo Phiri shall be made to account over his ZNS Eagle mealie meal because transaction smells a breach of the Zambian laws that prohibit the importation of GMOs
THE Zambia National Service (ZNS) Eagle Milling imported Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) mealie meal which is purported to be destined for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a scandal Mtolo Phiri and all those involved shall be made to account when the time comes, Stephen Kampyngo has said.
Mr Kampyongo, the Chief Whip for the Opposition in Parliament has disclosed that the Eagle mealie meal that the ZNS had been offloading into the country’s chain stores was in fact imported and repackaged in some parts of the country.
On Tuesday, Mr Phiri admitted in Parliament that the ZNS through Eagle Milling was selling the GMO imported mealie meal in Kasumbalesa to protect Zambians from having the locally produced product from being smuggled.
Mr Kampyongo, who is Shiwang’andu Member of Parliament
said it was unacceptable for Mr Phiri to begin fooling Zambians that they should not demonise the GMO mealie meal because according to him, it was not a health risk.
He recalled that a few weeks ago, it was Mr Phiri who had expressed total ignorance that there had been an instruction by the Ministry of Agriculture authorising some selected private milling companies to start importing the GMO mealie meal from South Africa when in fact he was fully aware about the suspicious transaction.
“Mtolo Phiri is on record denying that ZNS, a government security wing was importing GMO mealie meal from South Africa and that the mealie meal was being distributed by Eagle Milling. He is also on record that he did not know anything about the Ministry of Agriculture having awarded permits to some favoured private milling companies to import GMO mealie meal from South Africa. And on Tuesday, the same Mtolo Phiri was fooling Zambians not to demonise GMO mealie meal because according to him, the product is not harmful to human health. This is organised confusion,” Mr Kampyongo said.
Mr Kampyongo said Zambians were aware that the imported South African mealie meal was being repackaged in Zambia and was finding its way into some of the country’s chain stores.
“Let it be known that the ZNS Eagle mealie meal is a scandal for which Mr Phiri and all those involve shall be made to account when the time comes. Mtolo Phiri is trying to fool Zambians…he has been churning out so much falsehoods about the ZNS Eagle mealie meal. And now in the most dramatic turn of events, we have a ZNS warehouse that is manned by its sentries broken into and the mealie meal stolen. That mealie meal was stolen in Zambia and where it is and who is consuming it… your guess is as good as mine,” Mr Kampyongo said.
He said it was shocking that Mr Phiri could declare that Government shall not support the farmers under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) irrespective of the damage that had been caused to their crop as a result of the effects of EL Nino.