Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has said he would have been willing to return to Mumias Sugar and turn its fortunes if he was not Nairobi Governor. Speaking on Citizen TV’s Sunday Live show, Kidero attributed the woes facing Mumias Sugar Company to a number of issues synonymous with Kenya’s sugar industry which he understands all too well.
“The issue at Mumias should not be looked at in isolation because it is what affects the entire sugar industry in Kenya.”
“If I wasn’t Nairobi Governor, I would have gone back to Mumias Sugar Company to resolve the issue.” He said low production of sugarcane and the amount of time that the crop takes to mature are among the issues facing the sugar company.
The governor noted that the low yield has led to minimal production of sugar in the company that has since affected profit levels. Kidero also blamed cane competition by other millers as the reason why Mumias Sugar Company has little or no cane to crash.
“Sugar factories that have been opened in the area have also affected operations in Mumias since they resort to buying cane from farmers contracted by Mumias Sugar,” he said. The sugar company is facing financial woes that have paralysed operations in what is considered Kenya’s biggest sugar producer. In a bid to alleviate the situation, President Uhuru Kenyatta delivered a Ksh 1 billion cheque last week to go towards bailing out the company.
Governor Kidero, who was the company’s Managing Director from 2003 to 2012, has come under sharp criticism from Kakamega Senator Dr Bony Khalwale for allegedly engaging in financial misappropriation that has plunged the company into a financial crisis.
Kidero has, however, denied the allegations saying he left the company in a profit-making mode and operationally sound.