Woes facing sugar industry need a long-term solution

Reports that Muhoroni Sugar Company is in dire financial straits did not come as a surprise to close observers of the local sugar sector.

The firm is said to be sliding into a deeper financial hole even as banks shut the door, which means it cannot access funds. The company recently shut down its plant for six weeks, saying that it was forced to so as it could not get sugarcane to crush.

According to the Agriculture and Food Authority, the firm’s closure was meant for routine maintenance and that its employees are on paid leave. But farmers contracted to the company have called for the dismissal of the top management.

The woes facing the company are replicated in other State-owned sugar milling firms in the country like Chemelil, Sony , Nzoia and Mumias.

But what the common farmers on the ground are wondering is how a company that is on receivership was expected to revive its operations if it could not get access to crucial funding from banks. We repeat again that time has come for the government to cut its losses and privatise these loss-making State entities instead of pumping taxpayers’ money into them.

The question is many minds is why private millers are able to excel in the sector yet the State agencies continue to wobble despite getting financial bailouts from the government.

We aver that the government should find a lasting solution to the woes facing farmers in the sector.

The short-term financial bailouts have not worked and farmers are still owed millions for their produce while the sugar firms are reeling under heavy debts.

It is time the findings of the Presidential Taskforce on Parastatal Reforms were implemented to the letter. Taxpayers should not continue shouldering the burden of lossmaking agencies that can thrive if privatised.