- The governor says his government will spent Sh100 million to support cane development as an effort towards revival of the miller.
- Wangwe said all the 14 MPs from Kakamega county were willing to support the governor's efforts to revive the miller
Image: HILTON OTENYO
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya's legacy depends on the revival of troubled Mumias Sugar, National Assembly Majority chief whip Emmanuel Wangwe has said.
Wangwe said Oparanya has been driving the efforts to revive the ailing giant miller and should break the silence on the progress.
"We want to see white smoke out of the company. Its death has left Masinde Muliro University as the only economic driver of the populous Kakamega county," Wangwe said.
He spoke when he presided over the launch of Masinde Muliro University Alumni Association at Golf Hotel on Saturday. University VC Solomon Shivairo was present.
Oparanya co-chaired the national sugar industry task force appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta with then Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri.
The task force was to look into and make recommendations on how best to resuscitate the sugar sector.
Oparanya also appointed a task force that came up with recommendations on the revival of the sugar company. The task force consumed Sh10 million but its recommendations are yet to be implemented by his administration.
The once premier miller in East and Central Africa is currently under receivership by the Kenya Commercial Bank Group. Its operations have stopped due to unavailability of raw materials.
Receiver manager PVR Rao earlier said he planned to import rotors to fix the old miller to resume cane crushing.
Wangwe said all the 14 MPs from Kakamega county are willing to support the governor's efforts to revive the miller, whose collapse has adversely affected the county's economy through job losses and constrained cash flow.
Earlier this year, the Council of Governors chairman said a group of investors from Uganda had shown interest in taking over the miller.
He further noted that his government would spend Sh100 million to support cane development as an effort towards revival of the miller.
Mumias Sugar Company has been shut for two years following a huge debt portfolio and scarcity of cane occasioned by poaching by rival millers after the repeal of the Sugar Act 2001 removed zoning aspects, opening room for mayhem in the sector.
The closure of the factory occasioned lose of thousands of jobs and income for hundreds of cane farmers.
Edited by EKibii