Over 15 MCAs have petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to get rid of scrupulous Sugar Barons who smuggle cheap, accustomed and unlicensed Sugar into the country.
The MCAs from Western, North Rift & Nyanza Sugarcane Belt also threatened to storm the border control posts at Busia and Malaba.
They claimed that the unregulated commodity is being sneaked into the country through the boarder.
Speaking in Kaburengu, Kakamega county, the leaders led by Kakamega Deputy Speaker Mugai Kasaya called for immediate action.
Kasaya who is also the Shirugu MCA noted that close to six million sugarcane farmers will be affected if the illegal importation of sugar is allowed.
“We will enact County by- laws to regulate importation of Sugar," he said during a press briefing on Monday.
Busia MCA Wakhale Murunga claimed that imported Egyptian and Madagascar Sugar are also repackaged in Kenya.
Uasin Gishu MCA Ramadhan Ali noted that sugar cane farmers were suffering and wondered what language the government wants to understand before they can finally take action.
MCA Violet Makhanu noted that there are farmers who have worked in the firms for close to 26 months without sugar cane being harvested.
This comes following calls by various cane farmers to the government to enforce tough screening at the border points to seize illegal sugar imports.
The farmers noted that illegal imports of sugar was becoming a crisis in the country despite the fact that Kenya has ratified a continental free trade area agreement that allows free movement of goods between African States.
Kenya National Alliance of Sugarcane Farmers Organization Michael Arum called on Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya to introduce more strict regulations to safeguard Kenyan farmers from exploitation by unscrupulous individuals.
In April, The Agriculture and Food Authority assured farmers from the Western sugar belt that it will soon get to the bottom of the illegal sugar importation into the region.
AFA Director General Anthony Muriithi said they are in consultation with Uganda authorities over the matter that spells death sentence to the local sugar industry.
Muriithi’s response came on the backdrop of protests from farmers and Western leaders who had demanded action against individuals involved in the illicit trade at the expense of farmers.
According to the stakeholders, some unscrupulous individuals and traders flooded the region with illegal imports, days before the custom window was opened.
