While it would be a good economic gesture to the Luhya community and the country at large, the reopening of the Webuye Pan Paper Mills should not be done simply for political gain.
It would be myopic for the Government to operationalise the company just for a few weeks or months preceeding elections, before it collapses again thereafter.
History has it that retired President Mwai Kibaki attempted to reopen the company twice to no avail because the main aim was to please the Luhya community and lure them to vote for the Government, not taking into consideration the fundamental issues that could enable the company to thrive even in turbulent times.
On July 2010, former President Mwai Kibaki reopened the company in what was largely viewed as a political move to lure the Luhya community to support the then proposed Constitution in August of that year. It only operated for few weeks before being closed again. In 2011, it was put under a receiver manager, a move that did not yield any impact as the company did not operate any longer after that.
Even though these two attempts by the former president did not yield much, they were done after forming two task forces: th Alexander Gatimbu's task force and Muliaro Wafula's task force. What we are yet to establish is whether their recommendations, if any, were put into consideration before the attempted reopening.
Mr President, this brief history of the company points to us that the reopening of the company should be based on proper strategically laid-down structures that guard against runaway overhead costs and perilous environmental malpractices that come as a result of operating such a big company.
On November 15 while on tour of the Western region, you promised the Luhya community that very soon the Webuye Pan-paper company will be reopened.
This announcement sounded palatable to any development-conscious citizen especially because it came hot on the heels of the request made by the leadership of the region. However, your response lacked proper conviction. This is because it was founded on political goodwill that you may have wanted to achieve and not on the facts that are backed by research that would enable such a plant to be up and running.
I have heard that plans are in top gear now for the company to start running again. I hope that as the Head of State you will not play politics with this matter. It is imperative for you to make promises based on facts and research.
There is need to put into consideration the cost-benefit analysis and the social and environmental impact assessment associated with the operationalization of the company before it is reopened.
All these factors as per the current status seem to be in the negative. As a matter of fact, the cost of running the factory out-weighs the benefits, leaving the economy with no spin-offs from the company. Power consumption of the company is just too high. Indeed, it is one of the factors that contributed to the company's closure in 2009 when the power bill stood at Sh150 million.
On the socio-environment front, the company's emission of sulphide just before it closed its doors in 2009 was 140 times above the permissible standards.
The Government must not keep the hopes of the residents alive if these vital issues cannot be considered. It must take a bold step and inform them that it is in their own interest and that of the country that the plant is not reopened if such cannot be put in place.
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