Sugar stakeholders in Western Kenya have called for the restructuring of the sugar industry to enhance development and economic growth.
Under the Kenya National Alliance of Sugarcane Farmers Association umbrella, the stakeholders also called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to clean the sugar directorate and public millers boards to rescue the ailing sector.
Kenya Association of Sugarcane and Allied Products chairman Charles Atyang' said a forensic audit should be done in public mills before the planned privatisation starts.
Atyang’ said nothing can go on in the industry without an overhaul of the sugar directorate.
“Those who looted the sugar industry should go to jail if the government is serious about fighting corruption,” he said.
He urged the new Agriculture CS, Peter Munya, to dissolve all the board of directors of the state-owned sugar factories immediately because they are the ones derailing the privatisation.
“The current boards in the sugar factories are the major impediment to the process of privatisation hence the need for them to be dissolved by the new Cabinet Secretary in charge of Agriculture,” he said
The KASAP chairman urged the government to put emphasis on the revival of the sugar industry the same way it has announced radical plans to revive tea and coffee production.
This follows calls on Munya to make the sugar task force report public since farmers feared that it might have been doctored.
“The govenmnet has its good inetions but some cartels sneaked in proposals that were not fronted by farmers. The farmers were so clear in their submission to the task force where they called for the doing away with zoning and ban of sugar imports," Kenya National Sugarcane Growers Association secretary general Richard Ogendo said.
