Mealie meal shortages persist

The poor rains experienced in the 2018-2019 farming season has resulted in an acute shortage of mealie meal. The much adored staple food of Zimbabwe has now become a luxurious commodity and is very scarce. Mealie meal is virtually impossible to find in local supermarkets and retailers who are selling it are charging exhorbitant fees. The situation has been exarcebated by black market players who buy mealie meal in bulk atpnd resell it at very high prices in US dollars. The Grain Miller’s Association of Zimbabwe recently came under fire for allegedly fuelling the black market trade of mealie meal by supplying mealie meal to unlicensed vendors.

The situation has become a pain for most people who rely on mealie meal for their daily meals, particularly for dinner. Minister of information and publicity Monica Mutsvangwa recently confirmed that mealie coupons will be made available to what she termed “vulnerable people”. It is not clear who these people really are and it remains to be seen whether the move will alleviate the shortages being experienced.

The minister of finance Professor Mthuli Ncube also gave a green light to retailers to sell mealie meal at ZWL70 instead of the ZWL 50 in order to beat competition with black market pricing having regard to the fact that vendors were buying mealie meal in shops at a lower price and then charging in excess. Mealie meal is the cornerstone of the local diet and most people need it on a daily basis. Ironically, Zimbabwe used to be the bread basket of Africa and had a thriving agricultural system. This glory has now become a thing of the past and some people are even having to import mealie meal from neighbouring countries