Chemelil Sugar entrance. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]

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Chemelil Sugar Company has urged the government to negotiate with the Kenya Revenue Authority to settle its Sh1 billion debt.

The sugar miller wants the repayment to be on manageable plan.

Chairman, Benson Owiti, said the debt burden has made it difficult for the firm to cater for overhead costs incurred in day-to-day running of the business.

“On behalf of the company, we request the government to undertake negotiation with KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority) to facilitate restructuring of the debt based on a manageable repayment plan,” he said Tuesday.

He noted that the company has an outstanding debt estimated at Sh1 billion, excluding penalties.

The move comes as County chiefs from Kenya's sugar belt called for the write-off of taxes in order to re-engineer management of the factories which are facing hardships in the wake of cane shortages and financial distress that has hit firms.