Kenya Meat Commission staff face the sack

Workers at the Kenya Meat Commission may be sent home to help the meat processor get back on its feet again.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Felix Koskei on Tuesday said the ministry was searching for a consultant “to look at the payroll” of the commission which has been relying on government support for the past 10 years.

“We have identified two critical areas that we need to fix,” he told reporters at the commission’s offices in Athi River, Machakos County.

“You all know Kenya Meat has been a dumping ground for politicians for their people some who did not even have any qualifications. We want to look at the payroll and make a decision on who should go,” Mr Koskei said.

HELP LIVESTOCK FARMERS

He was with US Ambassador Robert Godec at the launch of the Kenya semi-arid livestock enhancement project supported by the US Department of Agriculture to help livestock farmers in Meru, Tharaka-Nithi, Kitui, Machakos, Makueni and Taita Taveta. 

Over the next three-years, the project intends to help pastoralists improve quality through financial support and formal training.

It appears the financial position of the Kenya Meat Commission will be key.

The meat firm has 465 employees — both casual and permanent — though Mr Koskei said part of commission’s woes result from the huge perks it pays its workers.

The government pumped in Sh700 million to help revive it, but its performance has been poor.

“We are optimistic that this institution might not require all the money we have pumped in. Money has been pumped in the past, I think, 10 years but most of it was just working capital and was at times spent on buying livestock from non-existent sources,” Mr Koskei added.

The meat firm, which was built in 1954, has obsolete machinery.