House team to quiz minister over deal

MPs will on Monday start investigating the controversial sugar agreement between Kenya and Uganda.

Details of the deal are expected to come out when acting Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohammed appears before the National Assembly’s Agriculture Committee.

The deal has attracted a lot of criticism from the Opposition, while the government has given mixed responses on it.

Mr Mohammed will be questioned over the agreement at Continental House in Nairobi from 2pm.

However, the acting minister has already denied the existence of a deal, although President Uhuru Kenyatta alluded to it after coming back from a state visit to Uganda.

“The biggest stakeholder in all this are our farmers. Our farmers are aware of some of the issues that are currently affecting the sugar industry. Least among the issues is actually the alleged conversation around this non-existent deal that is being talked about,” Mr Mohammed said last Wednesday.

He told journalists at Harambee House that the ministry was keen to ensure growth in the industry, which has faced serious problems owing to non-productivity by Kenya’s sugar millers.

“While everybody is making statements about what may have happened, the real stakeholders, who have the most to lose or gain, are actually our farmers. The ministry’s commitment to supporting that group is demonstrated by the dialogue we continue to have with them,” he added.

This comes as the House is preparing to debate a report on the sugar crisis in the country.

Debate on the report was cancelled last Thursday after the House leaders met and agreed to push it to Tuesday.