EARLIER this year Finance minister Mthuli Ncube (my neighbour) visited us in Lupane, the provincial capital of Matabeleland North province.

Ncube devoted his time to the issues of a government subsidy on maize meal as well as the price hikes that the government had effected.

The minister explained that the price increase had been necessitated by corruption in the distribution of the commodity.

Is it responsible for the honourable minister to tell starving communities that they cannot access their daily staple diet because prices have been hiked in order to combat corruption?

Given the fact that the minister was flanked by local MPs, a Cabinet minister, government officials, Zanu-PF officials and some members of the taskforce responsible for the allocation and distribution of the commodity including the local business sector leaders, one then wonders who among them could be corrupt to the extent of necessitating a price hike.