A bell loader puts sugarcane onto a truck at Matulo in Webuye, Kenya. [Photo/theeastafrican.co.ke]
The planned privatisation of five sugarcane companies in western Kenya by the government is facing opposition from regional leaders. Despite the High Court dismissing a court petition that was filed by two ODM politicians last year, the government might be forced to go back to the drawing board over the proposed transaction. The five State-owned millers earmarked for privatisation are Chemelil, Nzoia, South Nyanza (Sony), Muhoroni and Miwani.The factories suffer from high debts, cane poaching, high production costs, cheap sugar imports by corruption cartels and obsolete machinery. Other issues rocking the firms include shrinking viable land and lack of fast-maturing cane. The factories are steeped in debts amounting to Sh100 billion due to mismanagement and dumping of illegal sugar in Kenya.The government intends to sell 51 percent stake to private investors and another 24 percent to farmers and employees. The remaining 20 percent will be sold to the public once the companies are profitable.But the huge debts owed by the millers including farmers’ dues are worrying, hence raising doubts on whether the privatisation is viable or not. Miwani and Muhoroni are in receivership while Chemelil and Sony are owed Sh5 billion and Sh3 billion respectively.Cane farmers in the region have often staged demonstrations demanding payment of their dues from the millers. Governors and MPs from the region have now vowed to mobilise farmers and key stakeholders in the region to stop the move until a consensus is reached.Governors Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu) Okoth Obado (Migori) and Stephen Sang (Nandi) said the government should instead focus on reviving the collapsed sugar industries before embarking on the privatisation process.“We should not sell our sugar factories and yet we have not even addressed the plight of farmers in the region. Privatisation should not be for purposes of mere disposal of assets,” Nyong’o said. His Nandi counterpart Stephen Sang said views of various stakeholders like the farmers should not be ignored.