Govt urged to hasten revival of Webuye Pan Paper factory

The stalled PanPaper mills in Webuye, Bungoma County. Africa’s ability to industrialise is hampered by misguided notions, such as the one that emphasises adding value to its raw materials. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Previous efforts to revive Pan Paper have failed and billions of shillings lost in the process.
  • The factory was closed down in 2009 occasioning the loss of over 5000 jobs.
  • President Mwai Kibaki’s government allocated millions of shillings for its revival, but the factory remains shut to date.
  • The government has identified two investors who would help in its revival.

A National Assembly delegation has called on the government to hasten the revival of the Pan Paper factory in Webuye.

Previous efforts to revive its operations failed and billions of shillings were lost in the process.

The factory supported over 5,000 people directly and another 30,000 indirectly before it ground to a halt in 2009.

The chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Trade, Finance and Planning, Benjamin Lagat, has said that the revival of the factory would give a lifeline to thousands of Webuye residents.

“Many people were depending on the factory directly and indirectly for their survival, hence the need to speed up its revival,” Mr Lagat said.

He spoke when his team visited the factory currently under receivership on Saturday.

MASSIVE LOSSES

The committee, which has been visiting all stalled government-owned factories in the country, expressed concerns that there was massive vandalism and destruction of property belonging to the government in these factories.

“The government is incurring massive losses running into billions of shillings as people take advantage of the situation to vandalise and steal equipment,” Mr Lagat said.

“The factory needs to be revived immediately to end destruction and theft of property. A lot of money has already been lost through theft of vital spares parts,” he said.

Bungoma Deputy Governor Hillary Chongwony and County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed hosted the committee members, who included Webuye MP Alfred Sambu.

SUPPORT PLANS

Mr Sambu said leaders from the region supported the plans to revive the factory and asked the government to speed up the process.

“We will be very grateful if the government brings it back to life,” Mr Sambu said.

President Mwai Kibaki’s government allocated millions of shillings for its revival, but the factory remains shut to date.

During a tour of Bungoma County a few months ago, Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohammed said that negotiations with two private investors to take over the running of the factory were at an advanced stage.

The minister said that the factory needed a substantial capital injection, and that the government had identified two investors after bids were submitted from local and foreign financiers.

“Despite an investment of over Sh2 billion towards its revival plans, the factory remains closed, hence the need for a public-private partnership,” he said, adding that paying long-term lenders remained a challenge.