- “If the leaders have no problems with the process, I am willing to make Mumias emit smoke in a month time,” he told the Star on the phone on Saturday.
- “If they give it to me on Monday, I will ensure not black smoke but a white one in 30 days,” he added.
Image: FILE
Steel tycoon Narendra Raval is ready to takeover the running of Mumias Sugar Company on lease if politics around the miller stopped.
Narendra, the founder of Kenyan steel and cement manufacturer Devki Group said he was ready to revive Mumias as long as the local leadership has no problem with the leasing process.
“If the leaders have no problems with the process, I am willing to make Mumias emit smoke in a month's time,” Narendra told the Star on the phone on Saturday.
“If they give it to me on Monday, I will ensure not black smoke but a white one in 30 days,” he added.
His pronouncement comes just a day after two MPs from the region pleaded with the investor to reconsider his earlier position to pull out from the deal.
MPs Ayub Savula (Lugari) and Titus Khamala (Lurambi) on Friday defended the investor from political interference urging him not to abandon the miller.
“Currently, there is nothing Parliament can do. He is a private investor and that is his money. He can decide to invest anywhere. You cannot bring a question to the Senate giving the investor conditions. Now he has pulled out what will you do?” Savula said at Parliament buildings on Friday.
“Let us agree as Western leaders and plead with this investor to return on board and invest that Sh5 billion in Mumias Sugar Company for the benefit of farmers, workers and the general economy of the region."
Khamala said that people of Western Kenya have suffered as a result of the collapsed of the giant miller.
“Due to the poverty we have gone through, as a region we welcome Devki. If anyone has interest in reviving the company, such a person should be welcomed by all,” Khamala said.
The leaders were responding to a move by Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala questioning the details of KCB-Devki deal which saw the investor pull out from the agreement.
Devki withdrew their bid to lease the miller on Thursday citing politics that surrounded selection of an investor by the KCB group which placed the company under receivership.
“Given the ongoing public interest which the matter has attracted and the call for a publicly run bidding exercise, we have found it worthwhile to take out our application," Devki group said on Thursday.
"We will however express interest, should the exercise be conducted in consultation with all the stakeholders.”
Mumias Sugar Company was placed under receivership in September 2019 by the KCB group to protect its assets and maintain operations.
On Saturday, Narendra said KCB advertised the leasing and they placed their bid.
“The due process was followed and we were shortlisted and agreed in everything but at the time of staring, politics came in. For what reason we don’t know,” he said.
He said politicians have no role in a company under receivership because everything goes private.
“I have followed the right process but if the leasers don’t want to think about the local people or cane farmers, its upon them,” Narendra said.
The miller has been relying on ethanol as the main source of income after other revenue streams such as production of water, cogeneration and sugar production were closed.
The distillery however stopped in March due to challenges relating to shortage of molasses in addition to the exorbitant cost of transporting molasses and bagasse from other factories.
On Thursday, the receiver manager Ponangipalli Ramana Rao said the process to lease out the factory for revival is not yet complete.
He said the decision to lease Mumias assets to revive the company was reached after initial activities towards the revival faced challenges.