Kenyans have every right to rejoice now that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration has successfully intervened to lower unga prices.
In a news conference on Tuesday, Agriculture CS Peter Munya declared that the government had eliminated all taxes and fees on imported maize.
He mentioned that the plan was to dramatically down the price of flour.
After a lengthy meeting and debate this morning, it was decided to suspend all duties and charges on maize imported into the nation while we awaited the arrival of the additional corn that millers were allowed to import from other countries that was duty-free and is likely to do so soon. The following two days will mark the start of this.
According to CS Munya, “This step is aimed to lower the cost of maize that is entering the country and, as a result, effect on the price of Maize and Unga that is increasing in our retailing sites around the country.”
The action was taken just a month after the government allowed cereal traders to import the grain duty-free up to a maximum of 540,000 metric tonnes of maize.
The gazette notice said that “the remission of import duty shall apply to white non-GMO maize imported into Kenya on or before the 6th August 2022.”
A 2 kg bag of flour now costs more than Sh200 throughout the country due to the sharp increase in flour prices.
The decision is a major victory for Raila Odinga, a candidate for the Azimio, who had previously been linked to the high cost of living.
Prior to the August elections, Deputy President William Ruto has been de-campaigning Raila Odinga utilizing the high price of unga.
