President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed that the price of a 2kg packet of maize flour be lowered to Sh100 from Sh205 across the country.
Addressing the Nation from State House Nairobi on Wednesday, President Kenyatta said the move is part of the government’s stimulus programme aimed at cushioning Kenyans from the current high cost of living.
The Head of State said the price of Sh100 for a 2kg packet of Unga will take effect immediately until further notice.
“…being led by empathy and understanding and our desire to cushion our population from the rising cost of living, today my administration wishes to implement a 5th stimulus programme focusing on the Unga crisis.
“Maize floor shall retail across the territory of the entire Republic of Kenya at Sh100 from Sh205 for a 2kg packet until otherwise directed,” said Kenyatta.
To further address the Unga crisis, the president announced the suspension of the Railway Development Levy (RDL) and Import Declaration Fee (IDF) on all maize imported into the country.
“This programme of a subsidy of Sh105 per 2kg pack of maize-meal is meant to lower the cost of living for the vulnerable households as we look for a sustainable solution to the recurrent rising price of unga every election,” he said.
He said all milling companies registered by Agricultural and Food Authority (AFA) had been engaged on the fiscal measure to address the Unga crisis.
In his address, Kenyatta called out the political class as well as the millers for the recurrent escalation of Unga prices in the run-up to every General Election in the country.
Suggesting that the ‘Unga crisis’ was not a coincidence, President Kenyatta said: “If the politician gets his votes out of it and the miller gets their profit, what does the common mwananchi get? And in the end, who carries the burden of this mischief? The common mwananchi, of course!”
“If my appeal to the millers is to practice a reasoned level of social ethics, my appeal to the political class is to exercise civic responsibility. To politicize the pain of the vulnerable without offering solutions, is to mock the lifestyle of the same voters the politicians are appealing to,” said Kenyatta.
