Continued mealie meal shortage on the Copperbelt Province is causing panic buying among residents that keep flocking to retail outlets in the early hours of each morning in the hope of accessing the staple food.
Diamond Media has visited Chimwemwe Township of Kitwe District and found men, women and children in long queues in a bid to buy the cheaper commodity from a Zambia Correctional Service truck at K170 per 25 kilogramme bag.
Distraught residents have demanded restoration of normal supply of mealie meal because the current situation has led to scuffles they describe as belittling for citizens that live in a nation of a thriving agriculture sector that now appears to be in disarray.
By Lovemore Sondashi