HH exaggerating hunger situation, says Kayula

THE drop in maize production does not qualify to be declared a national disaster and UPND president Hakainde Hichilema is not being sincere on the matter, National Union for Small-scale Farmers in Zambia (NUSSFZ) general secretary, Frank Kayula has said. Dr Kayula told the Daily Nation in an interview yesterday, that it was important for the opposition leader to stop always being negative about Zambia but to learn to also say positive things about the nation. He said the current situation could not be declared a national disaster worthy of seeking assistance from the international community. He was reacting to Mr Hichilema’s statement that Government should declare the reported hunger situation in the country a national disaster. Mr. Hichilema said declaring the reported hunger in some parts of the country a national disaster, would enable Zambia solicit support in dealing with the situation. ”Months ago, we were adamant that the government must not export maize. We are now faced with a shortage and the price of a 25kg bag of mealie meal is approximately K120,” Mr. Hichilema said. ”It would be prudent for the government to declare the current maize shortage and hunger situation, a national disaster. This will enable us to get the support we need to alleviate it,” he said. Mr. Hichilema said Zambia was now faced with a severe food shortage and that the price of mealie meal was unaffordable by most Zambians. But Dr Kayula refuted the opposition leader’s claims saying the country had enough maize stocks to feed all the citizens. He said most parts of the country had generally recorded good crop yields and that only a few places were threatened by hunger due to poor harvest caused by prolonged dry spells.