By Nicholas Anyuor
It is sweet news for cane farmers after the Kenya Sugar Board allowed a private investor to establish a second factory in South Nyanza.
Board Chairman Okoth Obado said they had allowed Sukari Industries to put up a multi-billion shilling sugar mill in Ndhiwa District.
The new factory, he said, would ease pressure on the South Nyanza Sugar Company (Sony) Ltd.
He said the factory will occupy some 250 acres of Homa Bay County Council land in Kanyikela location, and would help cane farmers who have had to ferry their produce to Sony, which is several kilometres away. But some local leaders opposed the move, saying residents had not been consulted on possible negative impact of the miller.
Those opposed to the factory want construction plans suspended until all interested parties are briefed and those living around the site compensated.
Nyanza ODM Co-ordinator Monica Amollo is among those opposed to the move and has accused the Kenya Sugar Board and some local leaders of imposing the project on residents.
But Mr Obado, local MP Orwa Ojodeh and some local leaders say the project was a ‘god send’ and must be implemented.
Help farmers
Mr Dennis Orero, a local leader, said the factory would not only create employment and improve infrastructure, but would also save cane farmers the agony of taking their produce to Sony.
Councillor Dorcas Matunga said those opposed to the project were bitter after losing the 2007 parliamentary elections. "It is political. These are the people who do not want Mr Ojodeh. They see this as an achievement for him," she said.
Last weekend, a fight broke out during the burial of Councillor Lawrence Ojwang’ after a group of councillors accused Ms Amollo of writing an opposing letter to the investors.
When contacted, Amollo accepted writing to Kenya Sugar Board and the investor to stop the construction of the factory.
"I want to know why they plan to establish the factory without a feasibility study first," she said.
