THERE IS SOMETHING FISHY AT MUMIAS SUGAR COMPANY

FOR the last couple of days, activity has heightened at Mumias Sugar, the public private company that sits on public land whose lease agreement expired. 

The latest activity is a visit by MCAs supposed to come from the sugar zone who are said to have gone there to "access the progress" the investor is making. 

Prior to this, it was Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale who, like MCAs, returned a yes verdict saying "Sarai is capable of reviving the company". 

I am not surprised that even some elders led by Engineer Julius Omutekete Nyarothso who happen to have been sitting on mundane sugar boards as chairs or simply as members just to draw allowances failed to interrogate the basics during their visit. 

A company official leads MCAs to a tour of the company. Serious claims are coming out of such tours. 

I am not saying it's wrong for elected leaders to visit a company that was once a vibrant entity on whose basis hundreds of lives were made as it thrived. 

These visits however remind me of the days when the former MD Dr. Evans Kidero came to the company and found it thriving but mooted a plot to rape it systematically. 

Dr. Kidero, I remember begun by dishing out goodies to the then Minister for Planning Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya, then took on MP's, David Were, Ben Washiali, Andrew Toboso and Coucillors, Kidero entertained them with kilos of sugar, and ended up with MP's from the bales of water, millions of shillings as he planned to reign terror and cannibalize the company as they looked the other way. 

Sarai Group as known the investor is treading the very path and our leaders are too blind to see that the trodden path is cheap in its entirety.  

Bright leaders don't behave strangely, bright leaders don't seek to access what they can't understand, bright leaders ask serious questions. 

Our MCAs, Senator, and elders should have asked the Investor how long he intended to stay because the more MSC remains in 'foreign' hands, the slim the chances of total revival. 

The fact that these is a picture of one or two tractors carrying less that a ton of cane to the company is not enough to fool locals, it's not about being taken thru the cane yard into the store and shown already packaged sugar in Mumias branded bags. 

At Eshikumo2030, the voice of reason is that Mumias can only be beneficial to the locals if all the debts owed are written off by the central Government. 

As Kenya Kwanza had promised in its manifesto on the revival of sugar companies, this is the only way to go. 

Asking for the 20% shares presumably held by the Central Government of a company that was long delisted from the stock exchange is a time wasting and ignorant approach. 

As a responsible blog in the sugar zone, We want to add our voice by calling upon Governor Fernandes Barasa the county of Kakamega boss to call to order matters Mumias Sugar, engage the Central Government with the aim of having debts owed to KRA, KCB, Kenya Power and farmers paid off for a clean start. 

Mumias sugar revival was at the center of the campaigns and it must be held so, Mumias must no longer be used as a cash cow as it is looking, it must not be used as a scape goat by hungry leaders seeking favours that have nothing to do with the common farmer.

 

Senator Bonny Khalwale with the Mumias Sugar Company Investor after a Lone tour of MSC. 

It is our view that leaders must be able to constructively engage both the investor Sarai Group and the receiver Manager Mr. Rao and interrogate the lease agreement that the later gave the former.

This early we need these leaders not to be fooled to line up at the Company for envelops but focus on the bigger good that got them elected. 

We have traveled the tokenism route before, it has led us where we are and nowhere in particular, we want to see the new crop of leaders get serious on the revival of Mumias Sugar as they promised or let the company Rest in Peace because 5 years is not a life time. 

ENDS.