Masaiti farmers trading maize for fritters

SENIOR Chief Chiwala of the Lamba people in Masaiti is concerned that unscrupulous businessmen have entered his chiefdom and are getting maize from farmers in exchange for fritters.
Chief Chiwala said in an interview from Masaiti that briefcase maize buyers are camped in Chikola and Katotente areas of his chiefdom.
The traditional leader said he discovered on Monday while touring his chiefdom that the unscrupulous businessmen are allegedly exchanging four fritters with one tin of maize.
He said his subjects are forced to sell their maize cheaply to briefcase buyers because there are no Food Reserve Agency (FRA) satellite depots in the area and the roads are impassable.
“The farmers are forced to sell their maize cheaply because they have no market in the area and the roads are impassable. Four fritters are equivalent to K4 which means that the famers are trading one tin of maize for K4,” Chief Chiwala said.
He appealed to Government to work on feeder roads in his chiefdom and to build FRA depots.
The traditional ruler said Chikola and Katotente have been cut off from the rest of the chiefdom because the feeder roads in the two areas were washed away due to heavy rains experienced last rainy season.
Chief Chiwala said he has ordered the unscrupulous businessmen to leave his chiefdom immediately.
“I have told them to leave my area and sell their fritters elsewhere because they are exploiting my people by reaping where they did not sow,” he said.