Governors from sugar cane-growing counties want the report by task force on the sugar industry reviewed and implemented.
Governors Kenneth Lusaka of Bungoma, Paul Otuoma of Busia, Ochilo Ayacko of Migori, Stephen Sang of Nandi, Fernandez Barasa of Kakamega and Kisumu's Anyang' Nyong'o said reinventing the wheel on matters sugar was unnecessary since the industry continues to ail.
"We can't start afresh. Let's look at the task force report, review where necessary and implement it," they said.
The governors met Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi at Kilimo House, Nairobi, on Wednesday to discuss the revival of the sugar industry.
Lusaka urged the state to invest in the industry as it had with coffee and tea.
The county bosses said despite the national government previously saying it had written off the debts owed by public millers, records still show the debts weren't scrapped.
Key recommendations in the report include the reintroduction of the sugar levy, the privatisation of public sugar mills to enhance their efficiency and the enactment of the Sugar Act.
The sugar levy will be charged on consumers to raise the revenue needed to assist farmers to develop their sugar cane crop.
Other proposed reforms include the gazettement of the sugar sector regulations, including import rules, amendment of the AFA Act and Crops Act in line with the 2010 Constitution, and a review of the taxation regime in the sector to attract investors.
The task force also proposed strict compliance with the Comesa regulations and outlined a raft of reforms needed to increase the sector’s productivity.
The governors said the bailout should come hand in hand with a way forward to enable the mills to be up and running.
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya