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The hype about a decrease in the cost of maize flour has taken a dramatic twist as Kenyans still continue to purchase the commodity at double the price promised by the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday through an internal memo.

It is now emerging that the ministry might have leaked the information earlier before a deal was brokered with the millers as most of them refused to commit on when they will reduce prices.

People Daily has since learned that the price of a two-kilogram packet of Unga did not fall as widely reported after the Ministry of Agriculture failed to crack a balance with the millers. A spot-check across the stores shows that the directive is yet to be effected.

The Ministry of Agriculture had already directed that all retailers should sell the two-kilogramme packet of flour at Sh100, down from a high of Sh250 in some places.

“It is agreed between the parties that the ministry shall deploy market surveillance teams to ensure that sifted maize flour is sold at the maximum recommended retail price stated,” the statement read in part.

In the deal, the market price of maize (per 90kg bag) was to range between Sh5,800 and Sh6,000 with the government compensating the miller for each unit sold.

No prices set

Recent government efforts to bring down the price of Unga have been unsuccessful after the waiver of levies and taxes only reduced the price by Sh2 despite the product having doubled in price in the past 4 months.

People Daily also learnt that the millers did not commit to the government’s deal in a meeting that extended Monday into the night.

Despite some of the millers opting to keep quiet on what transpired during the meeting, Cereal Millers Association CEO Paloma Fernandes said there was still no agreement on the Sh100 Price.

“Cereal Millers Association (CMA) is consulting with the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant stakeholders on how best to reduce maize flour prices. Negotiations are at an advanced stage, but no prices have been set,” she told a local publication.

The latest attempts to reduce flour prices have not been received well in political circles with many aspirants allied to the Kenya Kwanza faction blaming the government for a deliberate hike in the price of the product.

Kenyans who went to buy the commodity were shocked that the old prices still apply.

“We thought that the prices have gone down and we were hoping to buy maize flour at Sh100 only to get that it is still Sh230,” said Brian Wafula who was shopping yesterday at Naivas, Embakasi.

The deal cutting prices by half echoes a similar attempt in 2017 when the cost of living was shaping up to be a potential election decider until the government came up with the subsidised maize flour programme to counter the political backlash.

Prices skyrocketed

During that period, Unga prices had skyrocketed to a high of Sh180 for a two-kilogramme packet. It took the intervention of the then Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett, to reduce nearly 44 per cent from 160 Kenyan shillings to 90 Kenyan shillings supported by massive imports.

Already the government has allowed the importation of an estimated 540,000 metric