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Villagers dump farm work for maize hunt

 

Desperate situations call for desperate measures—some villagers are abandoning farm work that equally brings food on their tables to hunt for maize to keep their families alive.

Tabia Swaleyi of Masapula Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mpama in Chiradzulu dared cold nights and mosquito bites as he slept at the district’s Admarc depot from last Monday to Friday, and only bought 20 kilogrammes of maize, but not without sustaining bruises.

Swaleyi was lucky she bought some from Admarc, others did not and ended up buying from vendors at exorbitant prices. Ironically, these are vendors that beat the system to corruptly buy in bulk from the same Admarc for resell.

Manyamula (R) and Machawa  Manyamula (R) and Machawa
Manyamula (R) and Machawa
Manyamula (R) and Machawa

“The sad thing is that we cannot go to work in our fields. That work requires energy and for someone sleeping on an empty stomach, the wise thing to do is to look for food first. I am a single parent, with five children,” Swaleyi said.

According to Swaleyi, the depot received 300 bags on Wednesday, but selling began on Thursday and the maize was finished by Friday morning, with each buyer allowed 20 kilogrammes, before the ration was reduced to 10kg on Friday.

Swaleyi, who accompanied by her sister, disclosed that there was a stampede as people struggled to buy the staple food and she sustained bruises on her knees and thighs.

“It is survival of the fittest. You have to be strong to buy. The problem is that these markets are flooded with vendors who buy in bulk after corrupting Admarc officials. You are forced to sleep there because if you leave, you lose your position on the queue,” she said.

She said the food shortage was seriously interrupting studies of school children because no child could concentrate while hungry; instead, they follow their parents to help them buy the maize.

On the other hand, Swaleyi complained that the 20 kilogrammes she bought would only last for a couple of days and she would be required to queue again this week, wondering when she would attend to her maize garden.

Victoria Manyamula, Chrissie Machawa and a few other women from T/A Mpama, also in Chiradzulu, were among those who failed to buy from the Admarc depot.

Manyamula said for all the effort they put in, including abandoning their fields for days, the maize finished right in their face.

She said: “We had been sleeping at the depot and on Thursday as they closed, there were 29 bags remaining. When they opened on Friday morning, we were told the maize was finished.

“We forced our way into the warehouse to confirm this and true to their words, there was no maize. This is when we confirmed our fears that the maize was being taken out at night by vendors who connive with Admarc officials.”

She said police officers are not helping the situation because some of them are also fighting either for their relatives, people they know or vendors who give them bribes.

Manyamula, who has two children, said there was no food at home for days and was on her way back forced to buy from vendors seven kilogrammes at K260 per kilogramme—at Admarc she would have bought it at K110 per kilogramme.

Esther Semu from Katoleza Village, also in T/A Mpama in the district claimed she witnessed a police officer at Chiradzulu Admarc Depot clobbering a man with a bamboo on Thursday as he fought to buy the maize.

The man, she said, collapsed and was rushed to Chiradzulu District Hospital. Nation on Sunday learnt from hospital officials that the man was discharged on Friday morning.

Semu, with her two-year-old baby strapped on her back, said she did not afford to buy the maize because vendors were doing all they could to beat the system and buy in bulk.

In Dedza, Chikumbutso Funani from Phulusa Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Kasumbu, shared similar sentiments with Maliko in Blantyre, when he told Nation on Sunday that for months, he has failed to buy maize at the district’s main Admarc depot.

“The situation is dire. From my pushbike business, I saved some money for a bag of maize, but my efforts have proved futile. Every time you go there, maize is not available. If it is available, it is all sold to the vendors who resell it at exorbitant prices we cannot afford,” said Funani.

He said his family is starving because, with his kind of business, it is expensive and unsustainable to rely on other food items other than maize.

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