Yesterday, we reported that posho mills were selling maize flour at a higher price than the supermarkets.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics says the poor have as a result been condemned to buying maize flour at an average of Sh130.54 a kilo as opposed to Sh110 for the sifted type sold in supermarkets.
This is most likely because of a number factors, which do not make the situation right any way.
In the wake of a recent biting shortage of maize flour in the country, the government rolled out a subsidy programme, seeking not only to make the staple available but also check its pricing in the retail market. It is generally accepted that such subsidies should be targeted at the most vulnerable in the society, who suffer the most severe consequences of such shortages.
The Sh6 billion maize flour subsidy that the government recently rolled out in response to the maize shortage should not be an exception. But alas! It is the relatively well-fed middle class and the rich who are trooping to the large urban supermarkets seeking the stuff. It may as well be that the government was aiming to feed this outspoken class than relieve the pain of the poor majority.
This is the reason no thought appears to have gone into how the subsidised maize would reach the urban slums and rural villages where the majority of Kenyans still live and where posho mills are used to process the staple. As a result, we are seeing a classic case of what is wrong with subsidies and price controls — distortion of the market and inclusion of unintended beneficiaries.
Yesterday, we reported that posho mills were selling maize flour at a higher price than the supermarkets. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics says the poor have as a result been condemned to buying maize flour at an average of Sh130.54 a kilo as opposed to Sh110 for the sifted type sold in supermarkets.
This is most likely because of a number factors, which do not make the situation right any way. One is that the private sector is importing the maize under government supervision. That means reaching out to small millers — who had to cry out to be heard at one point — is logistically expensive and involving.
Two, the large importers are closely linked with big business that rarely deals with smaller players in the distributive and even financial system. And lastly, maybe on the surface there was a lot of ad hoc planning on the matter that might as well be a design to benefit a few. Going forward, there are government departments charged with overseeing emergencies that are on a permanent payroll.
They should foresee disasters and figure out how to reach the poor with clear structures crafted for any eventuality. As it is now, the government has addressed the most vocal at the expense of the neediest.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
