Sugarcane Plantation Workers in Western Kenya have opposed plans to involve county governments in the ongoing privatisation process of the sector.
Kenya Union of Sugarcane Plantation Workers Secretary General Francis Wangara said the privatisation process should not incorporate the counties.
Mr Wangara warned that the issue could be politicised if counties are allowed to be part and parcel of the process.
“The only room the governors should have in this process is to use the county funds to buy shares for the farmers and slowly recover the money from the framers,” he said.
Addressing a press conference in Kisumu on Wednesday, Wangara said change of guard at the counties will bring confusion if the governors are allowed to have a say in the process.
He said investors who are keen to take over the sugar mills will have a rough time managing their investments if the sector is placed under the counties.
“What will happen if the current governors are voted out of office in 2017?" he asked.
"It will be chaos as the incoming governors might disown any process they undertook."
Governors from the sugarcane growing zones had called for the privatisation process to start afresh arguing that their exclusion was in bad faith since agriculture is a function that was fully devolved to the counties.