State closes Mwea rice mills ahead of audit

Mwea MP Kabinga Wachira with rice traders and farmers. (Munene Kamau, Standard)

The government has suspended operations of Mwea Rice Mills to pave way for an audit.

The move caught off guard 400 traders and farmers who operate at the facility.

The facility is the largest in Central and East Africa and sets milling standards and market prices for rice.

The decision to suspend the operations was communicated to the traders by the area National Irrigation Board scheme manager Innocent Ariemba and the Mwea East Sub-County Deputy Commissioner Fredrick Ayieko.

Mr Ariemba said the audit was a normal government undertaking. “Once the audit which is likely to take two weeks is over, you will be able to resume business and I can also guarantee there will no loss of occupation whatsoever,” he said.

He was speaking to traders in his Wanguru market office on Thursday,

Mwea MP Kabinga Wachira assured the traders that the audit will streamline operations.

“We have already established that once a farmer delivers his or her produce for milling at this facility no receipt is issued by the management to show that there was any commodity stored there,” he said.

He also noted that some rice traders and the farmers are owed about Sh2.2 million by individuals who deal in rice from the mills.

“This is all this audit is trying to find out and since we cannot afford the mill to remain closed for a long time, the team has been asked to speed up the process,” the MP said.

Ariemba told traders that they were free to collect produce stored at the facility as long as it was recorded in the mill register.