Uhuru Kenyatta suggests that the price of unga, once high due to raised electricity costs, is no longer justified.

Kenyans could soon be paying less for Unga (flour) after President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday told millers to stop being exploitative and reduce the price of maize flour since the government has reduced the cost of electricity.

Uhuru said the reduced cost of power should translate into cheaper goods and services for Kenyans.

The government had announced in September this year that there will be a 30 percent drop in the cost of electricity in the country as a result of an injection of 210 megawatts of additional power to the national grid from geothermal production. Recently, an additional 280MW was injected into the national grid bringing down the cost to 60 percent.

Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Davis Chirchir had then announced that by December the fuel charges would have come down by 73% and said that the reduction cost of power is expected to save the economy 21 billion shillings annually.

The cost of electricity accounts for 60 percent of that of producing maize flour and considering the substantial reduction in the cost of power, it’s certain that the prices of Unga among other goods will soon be going down.

Currently, the average cost of maize meal has been selling at sh.130 and Ugali being Kenya’s staple food, a fall in prices will come in handy especially at a time when the country is grappling with a high cost of living.

“BUY MAIZE FROM FARMERS”

The President also directed the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to start buying maize from farmers to save them from exploitation by brokers.

“Farmers are the foundations of the country’s economy and should benefit from their produce,” he said, while speaking during the Kenya Navy Golden Jubilee celebrations at the Kenya Navy headquarters in Mombasa.