2,000 leaders in Kakamega for sugar meet

Leaders from around the lake region counties of Western Kenya converge this morning in Kakamega for a two-day conference to discuss the revival of the ailing sugar sub-sector.

Governors, Members of Parliament, industry players farmers and national government officials are expected to also hold a special session to discuss the troubled Mumias Sugar Company (MSC) and agree on what to include in the sugar bill, currently in the Third Reading at the National Assembly.

Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula told the press yesterday that 2,000 leaders drawn across 14 counties in the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) are expected in the conference that has a full in-tray agenda.

Savula stated that the conference, to be held at the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (Mmust), will discuss the Sugar Bill, problems bedevilling Mumias Sugar and its revival, sugarcane production and the cartels deeply entrenched in the industry.

Sugar bill

Said Savula: “The conference is expected to come up with a raft of resolutions including our position on the Sugar bill that is before Parliament and Mumias Sugar Company, which may not benefit from the Sh117 billion bailout plan because it is a private company.”

Savula said a new law was key to curing the mess in the sugar industry, adding that the conference will offer leaders a chance to have their issues included in the sugar bill before enactment into law.

“The meeting will have a special session on MSC, its revival, curing cane shortage and management wrangles that have become a spectacle in the firm,” he observed.

“Mumias Sugar has debts, some of which are secured by a debenture, which can be redressed through an agreement between national government and the banks,” he explained.

The bill sponsored by Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe also proposes radical measures that include compelling those who messed up the industry be brought to book.

The Bill, which is being debated in the National Assembly, has also called for the revival of the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) with the mandate to regulate, develop and promote the fledgling industry.

The disbandment of KSB was partly blamed for the woes facing the industry because its functions were taken up by Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) which also handles many other sectors.

Ruto decree

The conference is taking place when crushing of cane has been suspended leading to a hue and cry from farmers.

Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa said yesterday that plans for the conference had been concluded.
He said they expected leaders from Kericho, Nandi, Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Bungoma, Vihiga and Busia counties, led by their governors. “We have also invited senior officers from the national government led by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi,” he added.

The meeting follows President William Ruto’s recent announcement of a government plan to write-off Sh117 billion worth of debts owed by state-owned sugar firms. In his recent visit to Western region, President Ruto also ordered investor Jaswant Rai to leave MSC.

Yesterday, Savula supported President Ruto’s ‘Mambo ni Matatu’ decree saying to win the war against the sugar cartels, the president had to be ruthless and crude. “Those saying that the president erred by issuing a threat to the investor are mistaken.

That was an intervention. You cannot succeed by negotiating with a tough cartel. His approach has yielded in withdrawal of four cases against MSC, and the ground is softening,” he opined.

But as the leaders converge in Kakamega this morning, there were reports that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) was reluctant to write off the debts owed to the taxman by the sugar companies.

Sources reported that the taxman was insisting that for the debts to be written off, the sugar firms must pay penalties estimated at Sh36 billion.

The taxman is also said to be opposed to some of the proposed waivers.