Irate community members detain vehicle transporting maize from Balaka Admarc to Mangochi

There was commotion at Balaka ADMARC on Monday morning when angry community members detained a vehicle, which was transporting maize from the ADMARC to Mangochi district.

According to reports, ADMARC officials were instructed to transfer some bags of maize from the district warehouse to Mangochi and that Balaka ADMARC should collect their maize from Liwonde.

This angered communities who were on queues at the ADMARC waiting to buy maize, and they stormed the warehouse and detained the vehicle, which was transporting the maize to Mangochi.

Member of Parliament for Balaka North Tony Ngalande rushed to the scene where he engaged ADMARC officials and the Ministry of Agriculture.

“Today, I woke up with the news that the maize which was meant for Balaka has run out at the depot and that Balaka Admarc is supposed to go and correct its maize from Liwonde a development which angers community members upon seeing that the maize, which was there, was being transferred to Mangochi,” said Ngalande.

“After discussions with officials here and the ministry, we have been granted to still have the maize here so that people should be accessing it right here and that Mangochi ADMARC should get their maize from Liwonde and the truck has been offloaded,” he said.

Among other things, Ngalande has introduced ADMARC mobile vending so that people should be accessing maize right in their villages to ease congestion at ADMARC and mobility challenges which communities face in accessing maize at the district ADMARC.

So far, through the initiative, they have managed to distribute more than 3, 000 bags of maize.