Row over impounded maize flour escalates

Almost one month after 62 trucks carrying maize flour and other grain products from Uganda were impounded inside South Sudan on grounds that the foodstuff was of poor quality, emerging details suggest there could be more to the story.

According to South Sudan’s National Bureau of Standards (SSNBS), the maize flour failed tests for aflatoxin contamination and was, therefore, unfit for human consumption. 

But Uganda’s attempts to independently verify the claim have been met with a surprising indifference by its northern neighbour. 

“We have not received any cooperation from South Sudan authorities and have now referred the matter to our political leaders because the claim of quality appears to be a scapegoat,” Mr David Livingstone Ebiru, who heads the equivalent agency in Uganda, said.

Mr Ebiru, the chief executive of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), told Saturday Monitor that a “political solution” may now be the best bet for resolving the matter.

But a ministerial level political solution has already been tested without much progress. The direct intervention by Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister and minister for East Africa Affairs, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, has not broken the deadlock.

It may yet require involvement of President Museveni and South Sudan leader, Salva Kiir, who are known to enjoy generally cordial relations.

In the meantime, the unfolding stand-off is raising hard questions about Juba’s commitment to East African Community protocols on the free movement of goods between partner states. 

On Wednesday, Uganda’s Ministry for East African Affairs said in a statement that it had tried in vain to find an amicable solution to the issue, which developed starting May 15. 

“The assurance that the matter would be solved in the shortest time possible has not materialised as more trucks with similar products are being impounded,” the statement said.

The same day, officials from Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Uganda Revenue Authority, the Trade ministry and UNBS crossed the northern border at Elegu and held inconclusive talks with their South Sudan counterparts. 

After the unsuccessful meeting, PSFU chief executive officer, Mr Stephen Asiimwe, said the matter appears to be bigger than earlier thought.

“It looks like something not just about the contaminated maize … They claimed that our products are substandard, and that is why we travelled with the UNBS on board,” he said.

It has emerged that South Sudan authorities declined to have samples sent for laboratory analysis, raising more suspicions given that the trucks were impounded by third parties not known to be responsible for clearing goods at the border.

Mr Ronny Mulongo, an official with PSFU, said it had been agreed that “the impounded trucks and their drivers are released to come back to Uganda because the truck drivers entered into the deal as transporters”. 

But there is no sign that the trucks and their drivers, who have complained of terrible living conditions, will be set free soon.

By Monday, June 5, the issue seemed to be deteriorating into a full-blown trade row.

Ms Edith N Mwanja, the Permanent Secretary at Uganda EAC ministry, wrote to Mr Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, under-secretary of the equivalent South Sudanese ministry requesting release of the vehicles.

“Allow the truck drivers to offload the maize flour in a particular designated area and South Sudan Bureau of Standards continues with their investigation into the quality of the maize flour. Release both the trucks and drivers to come back to Uganda,” her June 5 letter said, noting that the truckers are stuck in an isolated area 7kms inside South Sudan.

Ms Mwanje also offered use of the UNBS laboratory facility in Gulu, which was approved by Trade Mark Africa. But nothing appears to have come of this proposal.

The information black-out extends to border officials like Mr Nyol Majok, who declined to speak to Monitor.

A day after Mwanje’s letter was dispatched to Juba, Mr Ebiru sounded very frustrated by Juba’s apparent reluctance to engage over the matter.

“They have so far failed to provide evidence or share any information to that effect,” Mr Ebiru told this newspaper.

The UNBS head explained that any concern about aflatoxin contamination must be proven scientifically through “analysis of samples in an accredited laboratory with proven competence and capacity”.

Four of the five suppliers affected had their goods certified by UNBS in line with agreed EAC standards. 

According to UNBS, suppliers certified under an EAC mutual recognition agreement are not supposed to be subjected to fresh assessment by the importing country.

“It is, therefore, erroneous on South Sudan’s part to impound certified products from a member state of the EAC like Uganda,” Mr Ebiru said.

What is even more baffling is that a UNBS team sent to take samples for independent analysis on Sunday, June 4, were denied access to the impounded convoy.

Exporters of grain from Uganda are advised to always obtain their stock from UNBS-certified companies to avoid falling foul to other country restrictions.

Mr Ebiru said the government should also begin to regulate the quality of all commodities being exported from Uganda to “mitigate the possibility of poor quality products being rejected by export markets, which tarnishes the image of the country”.

UNBS recently established adequate quality assurance infrastructure, including at decentralised testing laboratories in Gulu, Mbale and Mbarara, he said. 

EAC maize export troubles 
In March 2021, the Kenyan government banned Uganda’s maize exports. The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) in Kenya said the maize contained mycotoxins, particularly aflatoxins, which can cause cancer.

In the same month, Kenya also banned maize imports from Tanzania after discovering the presence of similar contamination.

Regional trade in maize is becoming problematic despite EAC partner states being co-signatories to agreements on free movement of goods. 

Last week, Tanzanian authorities stopped more than 200 trucks from ferrying maize into Kenya from Tanzania at the Namanga border.

On Wednesday, June 7, our sister Daily Nation newspaper reported that export permits have been denied to Kenyan traders.

With Kenya facing crisis-level shortages of maize, the paper reported that 5.4 million people are at risk of starvation. 

Meanwhile, maize exports from Uganda to Kenya, which would have filled the huge gap, have dropped due to demand in the more lucrative South Sudan market.

The reported difficulties with Tanzania further expose Kenya, which has only been able to import 2 million out of an expected 10 million bags of maize, which is the country’s main staple food.

Daily Nation reported that new guidelines issued by Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture, require foreign firms seeking to import maize from Tanzania to open and register local offices in Dar es Salaam first.