Farmers, former Mumias employees plea to president

Mumias Workers Union members, who in mid-last month were slapped with eviction orders to vacate the company's houses, say this was manifest in the downscaled production witnessed at the company.
[Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

Former employees and farmers who supplied cane to Mumias Sugar have asked President William Ruto to move fast and implement promises he made towards revamping the sugar sector and the factory.

The sentiments come a month after the president toured Western and promised to spearhead the streamlining of the sugar sector and revival of the former giant sugar miller and possibly getting a new investor to run it.

The groups which spoke on Tuesday at Mumias blamed the county leadership for not showing enough commitment to the revival plans of the sector and factory even as the region's economy continued to suffer.

Anne Wesonga, a former employee, asked the president to start a process of shopping for a new investor who would make the factory profitable as the Sarrai Group from Uganda which is currently running it had no capabilities.

"We are concerned with the steady revival of the sector and factory because the President said the factory needs an investor who beyond reviving the factory would as well pump Sh100m to the county government for the good of the public," she said.

The workers called for an audit of the factory fearing that vital machinery from the factory were being vandalised or sold.

"We have information of moving critical machinery from the factory to other sugar factories and that must be probed," he said.

The Mumias Workers Union members, who in mid-last month were slapped with eviction orders to vacate the company's houses, say this was manifest in the downscaled production witnessed at the company.

"We are witnessing the final crash of the factory. In its heyday we used to crush 8,100 tonnes a day," said Vitalis Makokha, the secretary of the union.

They now want the President to move in with speed and kick out the company's receiver manager and Sarrai for fear that they don't have the capacity.

They regretted that under Sarrai the company's potential to generate ethanol, energy and water has not been realised despite being profitable avenues for resources during the company's heyday.