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{
"id": 1284801,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1284801/?format=api",
"text_counter": 150,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Molo, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kuria Kimani",
"speaker": null,
"content": "sector, the sugar mills to go back to business, and sugarcane farming to be a profitable business across the sugar belt areas. During the stakeholder’s engagement, the joint Committee noted the following: All the public milling companies were on their knees, and the situation had been worsened by lack of sugarcane in the country, which led to a temporary closure of the factories. Due to lack of finances, the factories' plants and machinery have not undergone annual maintenance for years. That has negatively impacted the efficiency of those factories. Public mills are also choking with huge debts. Numerous court cases have halted the operations of these mills. However, after the visit by His Excellency the President, some progress has been made. Miwani Sugar Company still has ongoing court cases. We hope those in court will follow the \"mambo nimatatu\" principle and ensure that the said cases are withdrawn, and the Miwani Sugar Company is leased and operationalised. The Committee observed that while the management of state-owned sugar companies supported zoning, farmers opposed it because they felt that the practice would tie them to sugar companies that may fail to pay them after the cane was delivered, which would affect the competitiveness and pricing of their sugarcane. However, farmers supported the introduction of five catchment areas, namely, Rift Valley, which will comprise Kericho, Nandi, and Uasin Gishu counties; Upper Western Region, which will comprise Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties; Lower Western Region, which will comprise Busia, Kakamega, Siaya and Vihiga counties; Southern Region, which will include Homa Bay, Kisumu, Migori and Narok counties; and the Coastal Region, which will have Kwale, Lamu and Tana River counties. All stakeholders supported the proposal to write off debts and taxes owed to the Government of Kenya, the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB), the Commodities Fund, and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) by sugar companies. They added that the source of funds for payment of farmers' arrears and salary arrears of staff that have been working at sugar mills had not been captured in the leasing model and the Memorandum by the National Treasury. We were treated to employees who came crying that their children had been sent home due to lack of school fees because they had gone without pay, some for up to 52 months. Stakeholders noted that it was imperative for public participation to be done during the leasing process. That would enrich the process and make members of the public more receptive to it. Farmers were categorical that the lessee should not be a company that had already invested in the sugar industry in Kenya to encourage competition in the Authority. Stakeholders vehemently opposed the proposal to merge Chemelil Sugar Company and Muhoroni Sugar Company because it would negatively impact industry competition and lead to job losses. They averred that besides the nucleus estates, the two companies had contracted farmers who supplied them with sugarcane, and their acreage was more than what they provided in the Memorandum. They disagreed with the thinking of the National Treasury that a sugar mill needed 29,800 hectares of nucleus estate lands to be operational. They noted that although Chemelil and Muhoroni sugar companies had less acreage than that, they had been profitable for many years in the 1990s. Therefore, the requirement that these companies be merged was vehemently rejected. Stakeholders implored the Committees to expedite consideration of the Sugar Bill. I am happy that you, Hon. Speaker, and the House Business Committee viewed the Bill as important business that will be considered later this afternoon. Sugarcane poaching was of great interest to this inquiry because private sugar mills from far and wide were engaging in it and disregarding those farmers' existing contracts with other companies. For instance, the South Nyanza Sugar Company (SONY) highlighted that they had lost Ksh4 billion to cane poaching. This practice, which unscrupulous millers perpetrate, has led to the harvesting of young cane, the temporary closure of sugar mills, and The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}