The National Assembly’s Agriculture Committee has questioned the motive behind their extension of the maize flour subsidy programme despite a letter from the Ministry of Agriculture stopping the programme.
The committee faulted millers for deliberately supplying the cheap maize flour even after the lapse of the official subsidy programme.
In what is shaping up to be a likely conduit scheme between millers’ government officials to embezzle public funds leaving the government with an unexplainable Sh2.5 billion bill.
While appearing before the committee yesterday, millers defended their role in the subsidy programme rolled out last year, saying they supplied maize flour as agreed with the government.
They said the subsidized unga reached the shelves as intended, blaming the consumers for hoarding the commodity leading to a shortage.
However, the millers were at pain to explain why they continued to supply the subsidized flour despite agriculture ministry halting the programme.
Millers say interest of the last subsidy programme pending bills has so far increased to over Sh290 million.
A section of the legislators urged the government to audit and pay the pending bills owed to millers before the interest accrues further after the government was forced to pay Sh590million in interest on delayed payments for the 2017 subsidy programme.
