Previous attempt at privatisation collapsed last year

Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o with Agriculture cabinet Secretary Willy Bett at Chemelil sugar company on November 2 2017 where he issued a bail out cheques of sh 300 million to sugarcane farmers. (Collins Oduor, Standard)

Plans by the Government to privatise four State-owned sugar millers in Western Kenya could be revived next week after governors formulated a raft of demands they want fulfilled first.

Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o said his colleagues from the Nyanza sugar-belt have drafted a series of conditions, which he termed a prerequisite for the process to proceed.

Together with farmers and millers’ representatives, they will initiate talks with the Government on Wednesday.

The State wants to privatise Chemelil, Muhoroni (in receivership), South Nyanza Sugar Company (Sony) and Trans Nzoia Sugar Company.

Zoning of the sugarcane growing areas, introduction of block-farming, provision of inputs to farmers, upgrading of infrastructure in the sugar zones, inclusion of farmers in management boards, prioritisation of payment to farmers and checked importation of sugar are among conditions the governors want implemented before further engagements on privatisation.

Other thorny issues are the fate of the factories and the land they are on which fall in the territories of the devolved units.

Introduction of the zoning regulation is expected to tame runaway cane poaching, which has over the years threatened to cripple public millers as private investors raided their territories with better pay to farmers. Reintroduction of this regulation could turn the tables on private millers, some of whom have not invested in the development of their own cane.

THE ONLY WAY

Block-farming, on the other hand, is expected to ensure sustainable availability of raw materials throughout, reducing incidences of operation disruptions due to low crushing capacities.

“The only way to guarantee efficiency of factories before selling them is to ensure they are operating at full capacity throughout. And this can only be done if cane development is organised in blocks such that there is cane at different stages all the time,” said Prof Nyong’o.

The political leaders are also pushing for reintroduction of the Sugar Development Levy to help farmers in cane development.

Governor Nyong’o is one of the leaders who had moved to court to halt the privatisation process, arguing it was initiated without exhaustive consultations with county governments, which control agriculture and are seeking to protect the workers and the farmers.

Efforts initiated by the Inter-Governmental Relations Technical Committee (IGTRC) to iron out issues raised by political leaders to enable the process go on were stopped by governors last year.

Nyong’o spoke at Chemelil Sugar Company where Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett issued a Sh300 million bailout cheque to help get the heavily indebted miller.

 

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