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Nzoia Sugar Company

Government Urged to Set up a Medical School in Bungoma

by Pauline Waswa July 15, 2022

Bungoma county residents have appealed to the national government to set aside 1000 acres of land from the 9000 acres that host Nzoia Sugar Company and build a medical university.

Benard Wangamati who is a medic from Boston in the United States of America said that he is willing to bring investors once the government which has shares in the said sugar factory agrees to lay aside a thousand acres of land.

He noted that there are various medical practitioners from Bungoma who are attached in renowned universities like Harvard and running different medical related projects across the world who are willing to cheap in.

Bernard, who aspires to run for the member of parliament seat for Kabuchai constituency in 2027 went ahead to ask the western political leaders instead of asking the incoming government for top seats in the government like cabinet secretaries, they should push for the agenda of having a medical school in Bungoma county to materialize.

“Those top seats end up benefiting only a few people but when a medical school is set up, it will create employment opportunities for many people,” he said.

He went ahead to ask Bungoma county governor Wycliffe Wangamati, if reelected, to introduce scholarship for the bright students from the county to go out to the countries whose health system is of high caliber like the United States to study medicine in different fields and have a contract with the county in that when done, they come back and serve the people for at least three years.

On politics, Bernard who declared an interest for Kabuchai parliamentary seat said that he is set to join the race in 2027 and went ahead to ask the residents to elect a visionary leader who has their interests at heart.

July 15, 2022 0 comment

Business

Nzoia Sugar Company To Close For 2 Months

by Pauline Waswa May 11, 2022

written by Pauline Waswa

Nzoia sugar company is set to close for a period of two months for to undergo repair and maintenance.

Speaking to the press at the company, the company’s Managing Director Chrispin Ogutu said that the sugar miller has been operating on old equipment which has affected the production.

He said that the company needs modernized equipment for efficiency in production of sugar.

The national government had recently allocated 500 million shillings to aid in reviving the miller and some of the money was used to import new equipment from overseas to at least boost the production.

Ogutu went ahead to note that 216 million shillings is going to be used for that exercise where by 150 million shillings will be used on spare parts while the remaining will be used to pay the experts who will participate in repairing the equipment and also paying the skilled casuals and laborers.

The managing director went ahead to ask the farmers whose sugarcane is ready for cutting to be patient and reserve them as they wait for the company to resume saying that when it resumes, it will be able to process more sugar hence more canes will be needed.

Ogutu also noted that the company still owes the farmers 787 million saying that since the reopening of the company in 2020 which was languishing in debts, it has paid to about 1.5 billion shillings debt as at April and it looks forward to pay more farmers when the company resumes.

May 11, 2022 0 comment

Business

Western Region Leaders Demand Evidence in Govt’s Waiver of Debts on Sugar Millers

by Pauline Waswa July 25, 2020

written by Pauline Waswa

Leaders from Western region led by Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula have called on Cabinet Secretaries who have been criss-crossing the region to provide evidence in the waiver of debts owed to the state by ailing sugar factories.

Wetangula dared Devolution CS Eugine Wamalwa and his agriculture counterpart Peter Munya to produce the documented evidence with the relevant instruments to confirm that Nzoia Sugar company debts have been waived.

“The people of western region are not fools, they know what it means by development and they have seen the bad states of the companies and being told that the debts have been waived without evidence is zero work,” Wetangula said.

His statement was echoed by Dan Wanyama, Webuye West member of the parliament who said that the cabinet has no mandate to waive a debt without the input of the national assembly.

“We are the people who allocate resources, I tried hard to include in the budget but when we approached Munya he declined to factor in Money for the ailing factories and so farmers know the truth. If indeed the president is serious, he should bring a paper in parliament to the committee of agriculture to deal with the issue,” he said

Wanyama said that the parliament must understand the period and how these debts accrued before the decision is made.

“It might be crude creditors who want to pay themselves or the money ending up going to the wrong people. Munya was evasive by talking about the treasury making paper work since he knew the process was not right but came in to give Wamalwa PR to get political mileage,” Wanyama added.

This comes a week after the recent visit of CS Wamalwa and Munya who assured the farmers that the debts that were holding the companies down had been written off to allow the leasing of the companies for it to go back to its normal operation.

They however came in solidarity with the most recent declaration by the president who had ordered that the cabinet secretaries are not allowed to move out of Nairobi after the surge in Covid-19 cases across the country.

Wetangula stated that their meetings have been suspended following the rampant increase of the cases in western region most specifically in Busia County.

July 25, 2020 0 comment

Business

Hope For Cane Farmers as Government Writes Off Nzoia Sugar Miller’s Debts

by Pauline Waswa July 21, 2020

written by Pauline Waswa

The government has put smiles on the faces of Nzoia sugar company farmers after writing off the company’s debts in efforts to revive the ailing sugar sector.

Speaking at Nzoia Guest house on Monday July 21 2020, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya assured the farmers that the government is set to bring the ailing sugar sector back to normalcy and Nzoia sugar will be at the fore front.

Nzoia sugar company has been failing to operate efficiently following the Ksh62 billion debt that has been the major challenge leading to no payment to the farmers and also interference with the normal operations of the company.

The government has written off the debt owed by the millers to allow interested investors who meet the required standards to lease the company.

“Along-term solution is needed for this company to succeed and that’s why we are striving so hard to see it flourish and the farmers benefit fully from it.I am here to assure you farmers that the process of writing off the debt has gone through the cabinet and no one should doubt it ,” said Munya

Munya further noted that the government has opted to allow the leasing of the company but with conditions in that whoever is allowed to lease the company must accept all the workers that were working there before and with their union agreement.

He/she must take the farmers agreement of the sugarcane developments and to make sure the canes are fully absorbed and this will be done together with the county government to make sure that the out growers’ interests are fully taken care of.

His sentiments were echoed by the council of governors’ chairperson, the Kakamega county governor Wycliffe Oparanya who emphasized the same saying that the failing of the company affects the farmers directly not the leaders yet they are the voters.

“I urge all the leaders present and those from within to join hands together to fulfill the urge of reviving this company because these farmers voted us in and we can’t stand seeing them suffer,” he said.

Also present was the Bungoma county governor Wycliffe Wangamati who expressed his joy and satisfaction towards the move that has been taken by the government to bring back Nzoia, noting that the company is so precious to the people of Bungoma and the community around.

Wangamati appreciated the move that was taken to ban importation of sugar and also called for more sensitization on leasing so that it can be understood and dealt with in a proper way.

July 21, 2020 0 comment

Business

Nzoia Sugar Applauds Government’s Move to Set New Rules in The Industry

by Pauline Waswa May 31, 2020

written by Pauline Waswa

Nzoia sugar Company Chairman Joash Wamang’oli has applauded the move by the Ministry of Agriculture to set up new rules and regulations in Sugar industry saying that it will bring sanity in the industry.

Nzoia sugar Company has a total of 7,000 acres of land with a total of 64,000 workers who are employed by the Company.

Addressing the press on May 30,2020 Wamang’oli said that for the past 20 years the sugar sector has been suffering but this is the time farmers will benefit fully from this sector, adding that the sector has been running without laws, condemning those spreading gossips to the public that Nzoia Sugar is dead.

He applauded the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Peter Munya for gazetting new rules and regulations in the sugar industry that this will help in the smooth running of Sugar Millers and timely payment of farmers.

‘’I take this single moment to single out our Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya for identifying problems facing the sugar Millers, I hope that this will make Nzoia shine more,’’ he said.

He called on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s intervention to pump in some funds to sugar industries saying that Sugar is the only commodity that earns much money urging the Government of Kenya to stop importing sugar which lowers the Market for our own sugar.

‘’The government of Kenya should stop importing sugar from other Counties, it makes ours not to fetch more on the market,’’ he pleaded.

His sentiments were echoed by Nzoia Managing Director Wanjala Makokha who assured farmers that the Company is now back to its road mark in ensuring that farmers enjoy total profits from their raw materials they have supplied to the sugar Miller for processing.

The Managing Director however, added that the County Governments have been given the mandate in the sugar industry to form a task force which will be deciding on the pricing of sugar, calling on farmers to approach the management whenever they have issues to solve.

He added that the Company is on up and runs to find funds and pay farmers who have not been paid.

May 31, 2020 0 comment

Business

Nzoia Sugar Farmers Threaten To Protest Over Alleged Misuse Of Resources

by Pauline Waswa May 28, 2020

written by Pauline Waswa

Nzoia Sugar Company farmers have condemned the management of the Company on what they have termed as misuse of funds in relation to 228 bags of sugar which went missing under unclear circumstances.

The Company which was one of the leading sugar producing industries in Africa and even awarded as the best company in the year 2015 has since been facing various hurdles in its operation.

Sources have revealed that the 228 bags of sugar were lost to fraudsters yet farmers have not been paid for the past one year.

Addressing the press on Wednesday May, 27, 2020, Juma Lubakaya, a farmer condemned the Company’s Management for insufficient service delivery to the people and so prompting the job to protest for the next seven days.

‘’This is very bad,as farmers we are very annoyed with such management and if they are not going to pay farmers their money, we will have peaceful protest,’’ he ranted.

He however, added that since the new Managing Director Michael Wanjala was given mandate to run the Company it has experienced much political pressure which has lowered the performance of the Company as well as corruption.

‘’This management and the board has been misusing farmers money through many travels, seminars and workshops around the country as well as abroad, this eventually left it insolvent,’’ he said.

Wanjala, the Managing Director said that the matter is already in the public domain urging the DCI and the police to investigate the matter and establish the truth.

The Managing Director added that the Company has many employees and when something goes wrong the Company needs to investigate the matter before clear information is given to the public.

“Let it be known please that I don’t work with angels and as human beings we mess,”he said.

May 28, 2020 0 comment

Politics

Tanga Tanga Members Cry Foul After Being Barred From Accessing Nzoia Sugar Premises

by Pauline Waswa January 26, 2020

written by Pauline Waswa

Western Kenya leaders allied to Deputy President Dr William Ruto were on Saturday barred from accessing Nzoia Sugar Company premises.

Led by National Parliament chief whip Benjamin Washiali, the Tanga Tanga members had gone to the the factory to discuss with the management aiming at reaching a solution to revive the lost glory of the company.

However, their efforts bore no fruits when the security team barred them from entering the company’s premises.

This act prompted them to address the public from the outside the company’s ground where they strongly condemned the act claiming that it was the government’s property and everyone had a right to access it.

The seemingly disappointed Washiali who was in the company of former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa, Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, Matungu MP Justus Murunga, Webuye West MP Dan Wanyama, Sirisia MP John Walukhe and former Kakamega senator Boni Khalwale expressed his dissatisfaction towards the act.

“We have come here as leaders to find a way to solve the challenge that is affecting us due to the collapse of the company and has therefore pulled down the economic prosperity of this region and yet they have locked us out,” he ranted .

Dan Wanyama called upon president Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and help to revive the ailing miller.

The lawmaker noted that through its revival, the farmers, workers and even the surrounding community will benefit from the economic value of the company.

The very sentiments were echoed by his Bumula counterpart Mwambu Mabonga who also noted that the fall of Nzoia has been a nightmare to the region and hence contributed to the fall of developments in the region starting from the families which are struggling to make the ends meet.

He called upon the leaders to come on board and coordinate with the Nzoia managerial team to find a solution as soon as possible.

He also promised that when they have a parliamentary seating next month, the issue will be taken to the agricultural committee so as they also chip in to find a solution to this menace.

January 26, 2020 0 comment

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