§ Mr. Pagetasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will state the price at which mealies are sold to the natives of Northern Rhodesia.
§ Mr. Profumo, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, Tuesday, 15th July. 1958; Vol. 591, c. 78], supplied the following information:
The retail price of maize meal is controlled throughout the Territory and this control is exercised by the Federal Government. In the principal growing areas—i.e. the Southern, Central and Eastern Provinces, whole maize vests in and is sold by the Grain Marketing Board set up under Federal legislation. In the remainder of the Territory whole 216W maize may be sold to Africans; the price is not controlled, but commercial sales rarely take place because the producers are mainly subsistence cultivators. By native custom they share their surpluses when there are any with their neighbours, and look to their neighbours when they are short of maize themselves. The controlled retail price of maize meal is published in the Federal Gazette.