Biko says the revival of the plant should not be a political bait for residents. He says the revival ‘always comes when election time nears’.
The government has been urged to reveal details of Webuye Pan Paper Mills revival.
Webuye West parliamentary aspirant and economist Steve Biko said the national and county governments should disclose all details involving the unnamed “strategic investor”. He said residents need to clearly understand the deal and what the investor is expected to do with the factory.
Biko spoke to the press in a Bungoma hotel. “As the people of Webuye, who benefited from the factory, we want to know what the investor intends to do with the factory,” he said.
Biko said questions have been raised, since the new investor would access government forests during the revival of the mill. He said it is prudent that the investor explain plans for the factory.
He said, however, revival plans are welcome as more jobs will be created. Biko said the revival of the plant should not be political bait for Webuye and Bungoma county residents at large. He said revival plans “always come when election time nears”.
He questioned the economic value of the revival, as its machines are obsolete. Biko said the equipment hasnot been operational for many years and many may have broken down. “We know it is hard to start the factory in three months. We need to know the viability of the project,” he said. Biko said there was talk of having the mill be licensed to produce fertiliser, but that idea went nowhere.
This comes a day after President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a Sh6 billion revival plan for the former giant paper mill.
The President said the state has found a “strategic investor” to revive the company and purchase the assets of the plant that would otherwise have gone to waste. The paper mill, which was the economic mainstay of Webuye and its environs, was grounded after massive debts.
Town suffers after collapse of factory
With a population of more than 100,000 residents, Webuye town has suffered massive effects from the collapse in 2009 of what was East Africa’s largest paper manufacturer – Webuye Pan Paper Mills. For Kenyans born in the 1960s and the 1970s, Pan Paper was a symbol of Kenya’s progress. The government pumped in close to Sh1 billion to revive the company under President Kibaki’s regime. It was unsuccessful because debtors wanted more than Sh5 billion.