Besieged Agriculture CS Willy Bett has said he will not resign, despite calls by MPs that he do so.
He said he will continue to run the docket until the prices of maize, sugar and milk drastically come down.
“The calls will not cut short my desire to lower prices,” he said on the phone yesterday.
MPs gave Bett a four-day ultimatum to resign or they will call for mass action. The deadline is tomorrow. The members of the Agriculture committee said Bett has mismanaged the docket, a claim he termed misleading.
Vice chairman Kareke Mbiuki on Friday accused Bett of lying to the nation when he appeared before the committee in February. He said Bett said the country’s strategic grain reserve had two million 90kg bags of maize that would have lasted eight months, “but all of a sudden, there are shortages and imports”.
Bett denied the claim and said he informed the committee the available bags of maize could have only lasted until this month.
“With the right opportunity, I will confirm what they are saying is not true. They will call me to explain,” he said.
MP Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja) questioned why 24 hours after the Supplementary Budget was read, allowing imports, there was already a ship docked at the Port of Mombasa with 29,900 tonnes of yellow maize from Mexico.
He said it takes at least two weeks to ship maize.
Wandayi said this proves the government has been working with the maize cartels.
On March 30, Treasury CS Henry Rotich waived duty on imported maize and wheat for four months to drop the skyrocketting prices.
Maize from East Africa attracts a 10 per cent duty, while imports from outside the EAC attract a 50 per cent VAT.
Bett said the first consignment of maize that arrived on Thursday from Mexico was late as it should have been in the country before the supplementary budget was tabled.