Oparanya announces pay date for cane farmers

Farmers who supplied sugarcane to State-owned millers will be paid their arrears between January and February, the sugar task force Vice-Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya has said.

Mr Oparanya said the delay caused by the National Treasury has created speculation and animosity among stakeholders in the sector.

Although he did not confirm whether Treasury has released the Sh2.6 billion owed to farmers, he assured that all the arrears will be cleared before the end of February.

“We had planned to pay the farmers in December last year but there have been some delays. We shall be paying them this month and early next month,” Mr Oparanya said.

FEES

The Kakamega governor said the task force formed on the directive of President Uhuru Kenyatta last October is still meeting and collecting views from stakeholders with the aim of streamlining operations in the sector.

The next meeting between the task force's members and farmers will be held in Mumias on January 15. It is meant to assess the challenges being faced by the troubled sugar industry.

Mr Oparanya’s announcement comes amid outcry from farmers who had hoped that the Sh2.6 billion promised by President Kenyatta would be released before Christmas and the reopening of schools to enable them pay fees for their children.

But they were not paid as government officials first chose to audit the list of farmers set to receive the cash.

The growers now say they are unable to send their children to school following the collapse of the once robust factories.

DEADLINE

A section of leaders from western region led by Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi, former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa had accused the task force of failing in its mandate.

They said the team failed to meet the one-month deadline that was announced by President Kenyatta when he launched it on October 20, 2018.

But Mr Oparanya called on the farmers to maintain patience, noting that his team has a wide scope of streamlining the tainted sector and thus require time.

“Some people are claiming that the money for paying Mumias farmers was released by Treasury and is lying in Kakamega County government.

"But I want to remind them that I am not in the task force to look into matters of Mumias Sugar Company alone. I am there to look into issues affecting the entire sugar sector and help revamp the collapsing industry,” he said.

“We need time to come up with recommendations that will fix the challenges in the sugar industry once and for all. We want to get the right diagnosis so that we don’t keep on grappling with the same issues over and over again.”