Rice still dear despite OMS

There are several easily identifiable problems with the programme. The first is the widely reported fact that the rice that the government has released for the OMS programme is of low quality. To make matters worse, it has been alleged that dealers are short-changing customers when it came to the weight of the rice being sold. It is no wonder that this has provided so little relief and there are not as many takers of the rice as would have made a difference in the market-place.

In addition to the unattractive deal being peddled through OMS, the food ministry has launched the operation without sufficient administrative and logistical preparations, so it seems, to make the exercise fail-safe. There has been a lack of coordination between government warehouses storing rice and the dealers who are selling the rice, which has resulted in much of the rice that has been ear-marked for the programme not being released in a timely manner.

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Another problem is that the government has not publicised the programme to the extent necessary and so many people are totally unaware that they can now purchase rice from the selected dealers at a fair price.

It is not enough to initiate a good programme even with the best of intentions behind it. The government needs to follow through to make sure that the programme is running efficiently and effectively and that the people are being well-served by the initiative.

The government must take affirmative measures both to see that the market manipulation that has caused prices to sky-rocket in recent days is checked, and also to ensure that its programmes to bring down the price of essentials are implemented thoroughly and yield positive results.