Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o has voiced his opposition towards the recent sugar importation deal between Kenya and Uganda in what is now being referred to as the 'sweet' deal.
The deal will see Kenya triple the amount of sugar imported from Uganda yearly, following an agreement between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, when the latter visited Kenya last week.
Coming from the sugar belt region, Nyong’o says that the deal does not mean well to Kenyan sugarcane farmers.
“We have always been told, and I am a big critic of this one that we have to import 200,000 tons of sugar every year because of shortfalls, a mirth,” he told members of the press in Kisumu on Tuesday morning.
“We can produce all the Sugar we need in this country. We can stop all the export of sugar and support our farmers; that is my stand. But when the National government makes a decision with Uganda that of the 200,000 tons we need to import from outside, 90, 000 should come from Uganda, well that is a national government decision,” he said.
He said that he does not like the decision because he would like all our sugar to be produced locally since as a nation, we have the capacity to do so.