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People in Mzimba District have commended ADMARC for opening a depot at the boma, saying it has enabled them to buy the staple grain at affordable prices.
Speaking during an interview, one of the district’s residents, Cecilia Manda, said the opening of the depot will force vendors to reduce prices of their commodities since most of them took advantage of the institution’s closure to profit exorbitantly.
“Vendors could sell 20 kilogrammes of maize at K15,000 whereas ADMARC is selling the same quantity of maize at K12,000. Therefore, with ADMARC’s opening, we hope that vendors will reduce the prices of the grain in accordance to the existing farm gate prices,” she said.
Mzimba ADMARC officials could not be reached for comment on the matter. However, M’mbelwa District Council Public Relations Officer Joel Phiri said the opening of the ADMARC depot in the district has been timely.
“Not so long ago, multitudes of people have been complaining that they do not have enough food in stock and with exorbitant prices vendors have been charging on their grains, most people were left in despair,” he said.
Chairperson for civil society organisations in the district, Christopher Milele, also hailed ADMARC for resuming its operations.
“It was strange to observe that Mzimba ADMARC depot was not being opened when people needed it the most to bail them out of hunger. It was also worrisome that no communication was being made on the possible dates when the depot would be opened,” said Milele.
He urged authorities to put in place stiff regulations to ensure that vendors are deterred from accessing the ADMARC maize and selling it at exorbitant prices.
Commenting on the matter, Mzimba Police Station Spokesperson Peter Botha assured that police officers are working tirelessly to ensure that there is sanity in all ADMARC depots in the district.
