Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi said only Sh532 million that is owed to small scale farmers is eligible for payment.
Linturi said it is not clear that the Sh3.6 billion debt owed to large scale millers is legit.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Delivery on the 2022 maize subsidy programme is not clear, the Ministry of Agriculture has said.
The ministry says ‘there was no value for money’, and that it is still not clear that millers who are owed Sh3.6 billion actually supplied subsidised maize under the programme as they claim.
This is after payment of Sh3.6 billion was halted by the National Assembly Public Petitions Committee in order to investigate if the millers actually delivered what they claim to have supplied.
While appearing before the committee last week, Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi said only Sh532 million that is owed to small scale farmers is eligible for payment.
Linturi said it is not clear that the Sh3.6 billion debt owed to large scale millers is legit.
“I want to tell this committee that only the small millers have been able to prove that they did something, and Sh532 million is worth being paid out. I can’t see what the big millers did,” Linturi said.
In a statement on maize flour subsidy programme funds spent by national government under provisions of Article 223 of the Constitution, the CS presented a letter that was issued on July 18, 2022 to then National Treasury PS Julius Muia.
In the letter, the Ministry of Agriculture had requested for Sh9.12 billion to cater for the maize flour subsidy.
The request, which was made by then Agriculture PS Francis Owino, showed that the amount was aimed at subsidising white maize flour at Sh50 per one kg packet and Sh100 per 2kg packet across the country for a period of 60 days effective 19th July 2022.
The letter indicated that the country was experiencing a steady decline in maize production over the last two years due to drought and failed rain seasons which had led to food shortages.
The PS has showed that the price had reached between Sh190-Sh215 per 2kg packet, which was beyond the reach of many Kenyans.
Through an Executive Order, the government and the maize millers designed and implemented a joint sifted maize flour subsidy programme to run for four weeks sat a cost of Sh1.8 billion per week.
“In addition to clear previous subsidy programme pending bills, a provision of Sh1.9 billion is required to be settled in three equal instalments of Sh641 million over three weeks from the start of the new contact to be signed with the millers,” the letter read.
He PS then requested for Sh9.1 billion to enable the state department to fund the maize flour subsidy programme and clear all outstanding maize subsidy bills pending regularisation in the 2022-23 supplementary budget.
On July 21, 2022, the National Treasury granted approval to the State Department to spend Sh4 billion in the letter Ref: RES1169/22/01 ‘A’ (7) under Article 223 of the Constitution in implementation of the maize flour subsidy programme pending regularisation in the FY 2022-23 supplementary Estimates No.1 Annex2.
On July 25, 2022, the Head of Public Service communicated the National Security Council approval of the sifted maize flour subsidy programme for immediate implementation.
It also directed National Treasury CS to provide Sh2 billion per week and Sh257 million for monitoring and over-sighting the program at all levels and Sh532 million to clear the outstanding FY 2017-18 pending bills for millers.