On July 13, business leaders in Gulu city took to the office of the mayor to express their displeasure over losses being incurred in the posho trade.

Posho, a staple food in the Ugandan diet, is made from ground maize (corn) and is commonly referred to as maize flour.

In the meeting, Alfred Okwanga, Gulu city mayor, said several traders complained that they were being cheated by some suppliers of posho.

Speaking during the launch of the Gulu city laboratory testing centre on the same day, Okwanga tasked officials from the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) to take the matter seriously.  

“As I was coming here, traders have been complaining that the weighing of posho is not correct. They (suppliers) write 50 kilograms but the traders said when they measured, they found that three or five kilograms are not there. 

“They are requesting that the trucks that bring posho be arrested and inspected before they distribute to traders. Before coming here, I had a meeting with all the business leaders in Gulu city. They asked me to pass this message so that they comply and they don’t cheat people,” Okwanga said. 

The complaints come at a time when basic commodity prices are shooing through the roof. For instance, on average, a kilogram of maize flour has increased from sh1,843 in June 2021 to sh2,898 in June 2022, representing a nearly 57% jump in the twelve months according to data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. 

David Livingstone Ebiru, executive director at UNBS said they would look into the matter. 

The newly launched laboratory according to Ebiru will provide conformity assessment services to enterprises and Industries involved in processing and value addition to ensure that their products meet the minimum quality standards before being put on the market.