Ship that docked in Mombasa was from Mozambique, it had white maize
A ship docked at the Mombasa port.
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National Biosafety Authority CEO Roy Mugiira, while speaking to Citizen TV's JKL, confirmed that the ship is bringing in white maize procured by the World Food Programme (WFP) for purposes of emergency food relief.
"This is not a trading commodity and it is not GMO. We have verified, we have a certificate of GMO-free cargo that has come through. Any process that will bring in GMO maize will require our approval," Mugiira added.
Dr Roy Mugiira, National Biosafety Authority: The ship that has been reported to have docked in Mombasa has its origins from the port of Maputo. It is bringing in white maize that has been procured by WFP for purposes of emergency food relief #JKLive @KoinangeJeff pic.twitter.com/aTGxHCbslk
The arrival of the ship sparked debate among the public as a section of MPs threatened to impeach Trade CS Moses Kuria if he goes ahead to approve the offloading of the maize without Parliament's approval.
Pokot South MP David Pkosing claimed on Tuesday that CS Kuria lacks the authority to order the importation of maize without first consulting the public and various parties.
"There are no roadside declarations in this country, it must be public participation, there must be a gazette notice which will be tabled in Parliament and if Parliament questions it, it is done," he said.
He argued that a gazette notice must be tabled in Parliament for debate and that only the outcome should be considered.
Pkosing also argued that the import is unnecessary whilst local farmers are harvesting maize from their farms and the government should instead morph business terms with them.
The arrival of the ship also received ridicule from NARC-Kenya leader Martha Karua who opined that the maize importation is a "get-rich-quick medium" for a few individuals and not a plan to mitigate the ongoing food crisis as proposed.
"Maize, Maize, Maize. Source of daily meal for a majority of Kenyans. To wheeler dealers a get-rich-quick medium, imported often needlessly at the expense of the local farmer," wrote Karua on Twitter.
"Ships docking with consignment of Maize before rules of importation are known and when local farmers are harvesting," she added.
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