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{
    "id": 149654,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/149654/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 373,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have various challenges facing the sugar sub-sector and I want to detail them for the House. Among them is under-investment in the industry, resulting in the use of obsolete or near-obsolete, inefficient processing technology; high cost of production; low productivity at both the factory and the farm level; heavy indebtedness limiting access to adequate and affordable credit; weaknesses in existing institutional and legal framework resulting in ineffective out-grower institution; poor state of infrastructure; weak research and extension; illegal importation of sugar disguised as other commodities crowding out locally produced sugar; under- utilization of company assets; and, poor management practices. The single biggest challenge that faces the sugar sub-sector is its debt portfolio. Despite this significant contribution of the sub-sector to the economy, the performance of the public sugar enterprises over the years has been on a downward trend. Under- utilization of company assets and historical poor management practices has led to a debt portfolio in excess of Kshs58 billion, whose details as at March, 2008 are as follows. Chemelil Sugar Company has a debt portfolio of Kshs2.548 billion; Agrochemicals and Food Chemical Industry - Kshs6.884 billion; Miwani Sugar Company - Kshs8.666 billion; Muhoroni Sugar Company - Kshs9.968 billion; Busia Sugar Company - Kshs375 million; Nzoia Sugar Company - Kshs26.657 billion and South Nyanza Sugar Company - Kshs2.998 billion. The grand total debt to the sugar sub-sector is Kshs58,096,000,000. This debt is one of the most constraining factors in the development of the sugar industry in Kenya. It results into severe cash flow problems and constrains the ability of the sugar companies to borrow in order to finance their recurrent operations and capital investments. Sugar companies are under-capitalized and unable to finance important activities such as cane development, factory maintenance and even"
}