Explain what you did with farmers’ cash, sugar firms told

What you need to know:

  • Mr Billy Wanjala, a former director of the board, which has since been disbanded, said it gave Sh260 millions to the firms to clear the farmers’ arrears but that had not happened.
  • Mr Wanjala blamed the farmers’ plight on the delay in constituting the Agriculture Fisheries and Food Authority (Affa) Board as required by a law.

Nzoia and Sony sugar companies have been accused of refusing to pay cane farmers despite having received funds from the Kenya Sugar Board.
Mr Billy Wanjala, a former director of the board, which has since been disbanded, said it gave Sh260 millions to the firms to clear the farmers’ arrears but that had not happened.
“Both Nzoia Sugar and Sony submitted a list of the farmers owed and the board approved funds to help the two sugar firms clear the arrears a couple of months ago.
“We need to be told where the funds have disappeared to by the management of Sony and the person in charge of sugarcane directorate,” Mr Wanjala said.
May have to wait longer
Further, he said farmers contracted to Mumias Sugar Company may have to wait longer since the management delayed to submit their names to the board.
“By the time the board was dissolved, we had not received the farmers’ list from Mumias Sugar.”
He spoke at the weekend in reaction to protests by farmers contracted to Sony Sugar.
The farmers had vowed to hold demonstrations to pile pressure on the sugar millers to pay billions of shillings owed to them.
Mr Wanjala blamed the farmers’ plight on the delay in constituting the Agriculture Fisheries and Food Authority (Affa) Board as required by a law.
“We have a huge vacuum in terms of farmers’ representation and we challenge Agriculture minister Felix Koskei to call for elections that will see farmers in various agriculture directorates elect representatives supposed to form the Affa board.”