President Ruto Announces Ksh.50B Debt Clearance for Nzoia Sugar Company, Shuts Down Privatization Rumors
President William Ruto has assured sugarcane farmers that he is committed to restoring the sugar industry to its previous success. This involves settling existing debts and ensuring that farmers receive timely payments.
Speaking at the farmers’ meeting of Nzoia Sugar Company in Bungoma County last Thursday, President Ruto announced that his government had successfully settled the Ksh.50 billion debt owed by the company, which had previously caused a financial crisis.
He restated the government’s dedication to eliminating comparable debts totaling Ksh.117 billion for the Muhoroni, Chemelil, Soni, and Miwani sugar factories.
“I will write off the debts of the three sugar companies…the past three governments have tried but they did not succeed. I want to confirm to you that Nzoia Sugar’s debt of Ksh.50 billion has been written off by the government. Your company is free…we have done the same to the Muhoroni, Chemelil, Soni, Miwani all totaling up to Ksh.117 billion,” he said.
The President stated that sugar companies in Western Kenya have long been grappling with a crisis, and his predecessors were unable to cancel the debts, making them extremely difficult to handle.
He mentioned that this had adversely affected the industries, resulting in companies facing challenges in meeting payroll for their employees and farmers, as well as managing their day-to-day operations.
Ruto pledged to ensure that all farmers receive their payments within a span of two days. Additionally, he stated that the outstanding debt of Ksh.1.7 billion owed to farmers by Nzoia Sugar had been forgiven.
“Even debts like PAYE, and NHIF, NSSF have been written off and we have taken them up as the government and paid them,” he stated.
“We have calculated the cumulative debts owed to farmers and they add up to about Ksh.1.7 billion we came up with a supplementary budget and we sorted it. In the next two days, every farmer will have been paid. We must sort out the farmers…I will also go and do the same to other sugar farmers.”
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The leader confronted his detractors directly, alleging that they were advocating for the privatization of the companies. He asserted that the government would oversee sugar companies, emphasizing that no individual would be allowed to buy or operate any of the companies.
In what seemed like a potential warning to those aspiring to gain control of the factories, he referenced the recent dispute over the management of Mumias Sugar Company involving business tycoon Jaswant Rai, indicating that comparable measures would be employed against other cartels.
“No company in Nzoia will be sold to anyone. Those who sold Pan Paper, you know them right? One of them was the one in Mumias…if anyone thinks they will buy this company, it will not be sold. It is a property of the Bungoma people. There’s no privatization and no sale that is going to happen,” said Ruto.
“We will have the right management that is going to make sure they pay the farmers on time, pay the workers, run the factory, and pay a dividend every year; either to the farmers or Bungoma County.”
As a result, President Ruto assured to supervise the achievement of the sugar industry, as he had pledged during his campaign.
“We will sit with leaders to add Ksh.500 million to each company that will be allocated to the cane development if the company is managed rightly,” he noted.
President Ruto Announces Ksh.50B Debt Clearance for Nzoia Sugar Company, Shuts Down Privatization Rumors
