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The government’s Sh8 billion maize flour subsidy programme has officially ended, ushering households back to the harsh reality of expensive maize flour.

A spot check revealed that prices of maize flour in the local retail outlets, estates and counties have escalated to levels witnessed a month ago.

For example, a 2kg maize flour packet is retailing at between Sh190 and Sh215 in local supermarkets, estates and shops in the counties.  

Maize millers who participated in the national programme had until yesterday to submit invoices to the Ministry of Agriculture to speed up their payments.

United Grain Millers Association (UGMA) chairman Ken Nyagah confirmed the deadline to submit invoices, adding that the programme ended last Friday.

“We are now back to the normal schedule that was there before the government announced the subsidy on July 20, 2022,” he said in a phone interview. 

Since the programme was started a month ago contracted millers have been receiving their payments within 24 hours after supplying the subsidised unga to supermarkets.

At the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters, a source well versed with the matter but did not want to be quoted confirmed that the programme ended on August 19, paving way for return of high priced unga in the supermarket shelves, shops in estates and counties. 

The millers had three working days after the expiry of the programme to process and submit invoices to the ministry to speed up payments.

“All the 129 contracted millers have been receiving their payments promptly and the process is still going on until all the suppliers are fully paid,” stated the source who spoke to Business Hub. 

President Uhuru Kenyatta on July 20 announced the Fifth Stimulus Programme covering the supply and distribution of maize meal, across the entire country. The programme was to last for four weeks to August 9 or two days after the 2022 General elections.

 – Nicholas Waitathu