Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has spoken on the controversy over the importation of cheap, duty-free maize into the country.

In an interview with local TV on Sunday night, the DP said, "Cheap maize is not available anywhere in the world."

His remarks come amid complaints from millers who said they had been locked out of trying to get import licenses after failing to agree with the government about the landing price for a 90-kilogram bag of maize.

The government had told the millers to commit to landing prices of Ksh4,200, which they were not agreeable to.

However, the millers complained that it would be difficult to deliver at the price because of factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war that raised the cost and the scarcity of the product.

There were also complaints about import licenses being given to unidentified traders. 

Gachagua on Sunday said, "The only available maize is from South Africa. We are in competition with Angola and Rwanda for the same maize. The maize in Brazil is too expensive to import because of the distance."

On why the government was not importing maize directly, he said, "The Government does not want to import maize directly because we don't want corruption and scandals. We don't want people in Government to get into business. We advertised for millers and other people to apply, to get permits to import duty-free maize to bring down the cost of maize flour. Unfortunately there is no maize almost everywhere in the world."

The government sought to ensure predetermined landing prices to control the cost of maize flour, which has remained high at about Ksh200 for a 2kg packet.