Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has thrown his weight behind the leasing of state-owned sugar mills, even as a section of ODM leaders raised objections to the government's approach.
Kaluma expressed optimism about the ongoing sugar sector reforms spearheaded by the Kenya Kwanza administration, particularly the leasing of government-owned sugar mills.
The MP said the reforms are a step in the right direction toward restoring profitability and sustainability in sugarcane farming.
He congratulated President William Ruto for what he termed a “timely intervention” in revitalising the sector and urged him to remain firm in the face of political pressure.
“Congratulations, President William Ruto, for the timely intervention of your administration to return sugarcane farming to profit. Be bold and shut your ears to the politicians,” Kaluma posted on the X platform.
“They have built a career croaking themselves hoarse about supporting the sector while actually doing nothing as our hardworking farmers are pushed to destitution.”
The government recently announced plans to lease out struggling state-owned sugar factories to private investors.
The move is part of broader reforms aimed at turning around the fortunes of the sugar industry, which has for years been plagued by mismanagement, debt, and inefficiency.
On May 12, 2025, private investors officially took over the management of the state-owned sugar factories—Chemelil, Muhoroni, and Miwani—following Cabinet approval.
Kaluma described sugarcane as a "poverty crop" in Kenya, warning that the continued politicisation of the sector has only deepened the suffering of farmers in the sugar belt regions.
He lamented that sugarcane farming, once seen as a promising source of livelihood in Nyanza and Western Kenya, had now become a "direct visa to poverty" for many rural households.
“As it currently stands in Kenya, sugarcane is a poverty crop and sugarcane farming a direct visa to poverty,” Kaluma said, pointing to years of political rhetoric and empty promises that have failed to revive the ailing industry.
He accused politicians of exploiting the plight of sugarcane farmers for political mileage while doing little to deliver meaningful reforms or support to the sector.
“The revival of sugarcane factories and productivity has become the dominant political slogan in Nyanza and Western Kenya for far too long, building political careers while farmers are pushed deep into poverty and destitution,” Kaluma stated.
However, not all leaders from the region share his view.
On May 12, 2025, a section of ODM leaders called for the reversal of the policy.
Led by MPs James Nyikal (Seme), Onyango Koyoo (Muhoroni), Aduma Owuor (Nyakach), Shakeel Shabir (Kisumu East), Joshua Oron (Kisumu Central), and Woman Representative Ruth Odinga, the leaders emphasised that they were not opposed to leasing per se, but to the process that led to it.
In a joint press statement, the leaders cited a lack of transparency, disregard for public input, and threats to local livelihoods.
They described the leasing process as opaque and unconstitutional, claiming it violates the rights of sugarcane farmers who depend on the industry for survival.
“What is being meted out to the hundreds of households who depend on cane production for a living is an affront to their rights,” the statement read.
“In fact, it
is warfare to decimate a whole community."
The leaders argued that the leasing process violates the Constitution by ignoring the requirement for meaningful public participation and by excluding county governments, key stakeholders in agriculture and land matters, from the decision-making process.
