KMC Beef Farmers: President Uhuru Kenyatta’s decision to transfer the Kenya Meat Commission to the Ministry of Defense appears to be paying off for farmers. This is after revelations that the military has has cleared the bulk of debts it owed livestock farmers and other suppliers since it acquired KMC in September.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i while making this disclosure said the takeover of the loss-making firm had also led to nearly 30 percent increase in the number of livestock supplied to the Athi River-based meat processor by farmers and other suppliers. This increase was attributed to faster payments for deliveries.
“Through the government transfer of KMC to the Ministry of Defence, we have managed to clear Sh. 250 million debt owed to livestock farmers. A further Sh. 150 million has been allocated to clear debts to other general suppliers in this financial year. The other managerial issues in running the KMC facilities are now being effectively addressed,” CS Matiang’i said.
President Uhuru puts Kenya Meat Commission under Ministry of Defense
“As its largest client, the military had a natural stake in seeing that the KMC was efficiently managed while the meat processor stood to benefit from a guaranteed market, CS Matiang’i added.
Kenyatta put the Kenya Meat Commission under the Ministry of Defense in Spetember in a move that gave the military capacity to run the cash strapped outlet. Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture had developed plans to sell Kenya Meat Commission to a private investor as the government sought more capital to revive the ailing parastatal. The ministry had said that the privatisation of the firm will make it economical viable and boost export of animal products from Kenya to other countries.
he plant slaughters 200 cattle per week, despite it having the capacity to process the same number of animals per day.