President William Ruto has said Nzoia Sugar Company will undergo a leadership change as part of the government's strategy to revamp the ailing cane miller.
Speaking on Monday when he toured the facility at Kanduyi in Bungoma county, Ruto said it's unacceptable that the miller has an accrued debt of Sh53 billion despite various bailout plans while private millers are doing well.
"This time round we must get it right. We can't play another poker game here of bringing Kenyans' money and it gets lost," he said.
The President said he has held about 20 meetings with the ministries of Treasury and Agriculture and governors and MPs from cane-growing zones in Western Kenya over the issue.
He said the new leadership will be drawn from the private sector to pump new blood into the ailing miller which has failed to gain its footing over the years.
"We will have private sector management of this facility to make sure that we eliminate incompetency and other issues. We can't continue doing the same things we have been doing year in and year out and there is no change," Ruto said.
"West Kenya company is just next door and it pays its farmers, Butali pays farmers so the cane has no problem. The problem is with management. If a private company is working, why does the one by government troublesome and has debts and does not pay farmers?" he posed.
The President further said the Speaker of the National Assembly and MPs have assured him that they will approve the proposal by the government to write off the Sh117 billion owed by sugar millers in the country.
The funds are cumulative loans taken by the six millers plus the resultant interest.
He said once the debts are written off, the government will embark on the second phase of revamping millers in the Western region by investing in cane production.
The President also said the government will invest in new milling machines to replace the current ones which have become obsolete.
