Bizna came across this hard-hitting commentary on Mumias Sugar on one of its social media platforms. What are your views regarding it?

“Sadly, Mumias is dead. Besides looting, Kenyan farmers are generally lazy jokers. They prefer lazy kind of farming. And modern-day cane farming is a perfect example of such. They plant, sorry throw, cane cuttings in shallowly done gullies in farms, and wait for 18 months for a bumper harvest! Weeding and top dressing my foot!

Look, when Mumias was Mumias, the company had to push farmers and actively participate in production of better cane crop. I used to see extension officers all over, helping farmers to better their sugar cane husbandry. The moment these services vanished, farmer went back to the aforementioned shenzi farming practices. So even if Mumias got back on its feet, chances are we will be faced with yet another huge challenge; acute sugar cane supply. Most farmers moved on.

Few remaining ones are mediocre. So as we shout “bail out…bail out” and “looting…” let’s also focus on the lazy farmer and how to help him move on to other equally lucrative ventures. We shout from rooftops, “revamp Pan paper…revamp Pan paper…” but nobody stops to ask whether farmers are still interested in tree farming. Same madness with textile Industry. We whine about the industr y’s lost glory, but even if money was to be thrown at the problem, who is interested in cotton farming with the all the uncertainty?

The size of canes you see in farms and being transported to the factories–both towards Mumias and West Kenya– are too tiny you even want to cry. Methinks it’s time farmers tried other crops. I knew cane farming had become useless when headmasters began refusing farmers’ promissory notes from Mumias Sugar as surety for school fees.

Thing is, the earlier we encourage the few remaining cane farmers to invest elsewhere the better. But the tragedy is, like I began, most farmers are lazy because they don’t want proper farming, say, poultry, dairy, and other lucrative ones that require hands-on approaches.”

National Bank of Kenya (NBK) suspended its chief finance officer, Mr Chris Kisire to let him clear his name of corruption allegations while he served in the same capacity at Mumias Sugar.

The bank said it had consulted with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the government, its lawyers and Mr Kisire before sending him on compulsory suspension.

“When he came to National Bank, the bank was looking for an experienced CFO – with experience working with listed companies – to support our transformation agenda. We reviewed his work at The Standard group, DHL, Mumias among other blues chip companies and he had the qualifications we sought. He has been doing his job well before this Mumias saga broke,” the bank said.

National Bank said as a responsible employer, it consulted with the Central Bank of Kenya, the government, its lawyers and Mr. Kisire before sending him on compulsory suspension to allow him time clear to his name. The bank said Mr. Kesire served well and that they wished him all the best in clearing his name.

National Bank says main challenge has been the delayed approval of the Rights Issue which, according to the strategic plan was to inject Sh13 Billion by July 2014 into the bank to further support its rapid growth. Shareholders approved the resolution in its June 2013 AGM and CMA is awaiting Treasury’s approval.

Fruit is great for you, but you do have to keep in mind the glycemic index (GI) of the type you choose. Choosing foods with a lower GI can help promote the loss of belly fat. Most fruits are in the low range on the GI scale, but a few are higher, most specifically watermelon.

Because it has an elevated GI, watermelon may cause spikes in both blood sugar and insulin levels, which can trigger storage of belly fat. Watermelon isn’t all bad, however. Out of almost all fruits and vegetables, it contains the highest content of lycopene, which is a phytochemical that has been shown to protect the heart by decreasing the buildup of plaque in the arteries.

Some studies have also shown a positive correlation between increased lycopene intake and a decreased risk of certain cancers, such as prostate cancer. Watermelon is also rich in the amino acid arginine, which has been shown to promote fat loss and increase muscle mass.

REMEMBER: You don’t need to avoid watermelon, just watch how often you eat it and how much you eat at one sitting. For the best belly-flattening results, keep your watermelon intake to about 1 cup per day. This way you get all the great benefits of watermelon without too much impact on your insulin levels.

Other fruits that can contain a high GI include

Dried fruits with added sugar: When choosing dried fruit, buy brands that only contain fruit. Dried fruits that list sugar, cane juice, or corn syrup in the ingredients are loaded with added sweeteners that can raise your GI and promote increased belly fat storage.

Fruits that have been canned in heavy syrup: If you enjoy canned fruits, choose varieties canned in 100 percent fruit juice rather than those packed in syrups.

Fruit juices, specifically juices that aren’t 100 percent juice: Because juices contain limited amounts of fiber, they aren’t as filling as eating a piece of fruit. They also may potentially raise blood sugar and insulin levels higher than a piece of fruit would.

If you do have juice, drink it in moderation (approximately 1/2 to 1 cup per day). Also be sure to select a brand that contains only 100 percent fruit juice. If you love juice in larger quantities, try this trick: Dilute 4 ounces of juice with 8 ounces of water for a delicious and refreshing beverage with less sugar.

TIP: To identify and avoid these high-GI fruits, make sure you read labels.

A day after the Sh1 billion bailout announcement, the firm was in court battling Peeraj General Trading and Construction Company over $4.4 million (Sh431 million at the current exchange rate) contract.

The struggling miller asked High Court Judge Jaqueline Kamau to dismiss the case as it was still premature. “The defendant states that in view of the provisions of the contracts and the conditions of the Federation International des Ingenieurs-Conseils (FIDIC), the plaintiff’s suit is still premature and an abuse of the court process,” Mumias Sugar Company Lawyer John Khaminwa told the court.

Mr Khaminwa argued that the agreement between the two companies was that they would refer the matter to an arbitrator in case a dispute arose between them. He held that the case should be struck out.

On the other hand, Peeraj General argued that Mumias Sugar Company had undertaken to settle the debt in two equal instalments between November and December last year and it admitted in its papers that it owed the firm the amount. The firm said there was no case to be brought up before an arbitrator.

“There is no dispute to be referred to arbitration, the defendant has already admitted and accepted the claim,” Peeraj said in its court papers. The firm is among a list of creditors after Mumias over outstanding debt though the State has given its assurance of Sh1 billion. Kenya Power is claiming Sh1.1 billion and security firm G4S is after Sh45 million.

“The plaintiff (Peeraj), due to the hefty amount outstanding, made numerous pleas to the defendant (Mumias) to have the amount paid but despite the undertaking to have the amounts paid, the defendant failed, neglected or otherwise refused to honour the payments due to the plaintiff on the account of work done,” the Judge was told. Justice Kamau directed that the case be mentioned on September 19 to confirm if the two firms will have filed their submissions.

The following analysis by Bitange Ndemo was first published in the Business Daily.

Once more, Uchumi is in the intensive care unit after Mr Jonathan Ciano successfully turned it around from the jaws of bankruptcy. Last week, Mr Ciano was thrown out. His problem can be summarised as failure to heed the wisdom in Kenny Rogers’ song The Gambler, where he says, “You’ve got to know when to walk away.”

Truth be told, Mr Ciano was a great turnaround manager but not necessarily an innovation strategist. What Uchumi needs most right now is simply an innovation strategy. Uchumi should have changed its business model a day after its successful turnaround. Its current model of buying and selling of merchandise is outdated.

Uchumi, Kenya’s first State-owned supermarket, is a brand that evokes pride and patriotism. Personally, I can still vouch for the brand, but it needs innovation around it.

Whoever comes on board as CEO must turn the supermarket into a technology platform for goods and services where suppliers acquire space and strive to meet required standards.

Their future survival depends on how much technology capacity they develop to manage the emerging trends. Before rushing to hire a new CEO, the board must decide what is it they want Uchumi to become. If they want to increase shareholder value, my advice is that they need to learn from several technology platforms that have brought shareholder value within a very short period.

Take, for example, Uber, an American international transportation network company founded in 2009. It runs taxi companies globally without owning one taxi cab. CNN Money estimates Uber to be valued at $50 billion (Sh4.9 trillion). YouTube, founded in 2005 and now valued at $45 billion (Sh4.4 trillioni), makes no content, doesn’t buy and sell content but it is the largest distributor of content globally.

The Uchumi brand must establish its niche and market itself in order to increase customer numbers that can be leveraged on volume to lower the supply chain costs. Some of its competitors are already working towards such a strategy but the headache of maintaining low costs and continuous supply still nags the entire industry.

This is where opportunity lies to differentiate itself. Large supermarkets are notorious for delaying payments to suppliers but if the burden of inventory is passed to suppliers in return for prompt payments, it will be a win-win situation for everybody and a good strategy for retaining reliable customers.

The benefits for this proposed model include: improved product quality since it will attract quality suppliers; discourage carrying of dead inventory; greater efficiencies through reduced workforce especially the procurement unit which will become irrelevant; and, spurring development of new goods that would create more sustainable jobs.

These, I must say, are minimum reforms if Uchumi is to be salvaged. New and leaner competition such as Jumia, an online shopping mall, is emerging with very disruptive products.

It will be unwise to consider Nakumatt, Tuskys, Naivas and Foodplus as the only competitors. There are also newcomers like Game and Carrefour, which are even more experienced.

I further suggest that the board consults widely before making any conclusive decisions. There is wisdom in learning from its past turnaround. In his book Beyond the Shadows of my Dream, Martin Oduor-Otieno captures the behind-the-scenes efforts to turnaround Uchumi.

He writes: “KCB and team, together with the representatives of the PTA Bank, agreed to give Uchumi a lifeline and the opportunity to try and turn it around. They would work closely with the government and other relevant stakeholders in search of a strategy to revive this market chain. A task force was formed to oversee the whole process. Jonathan Ciano was recruited and appointed receiver manager. This became the most successful turnaround story in Kenya’s corporate history.” We must not ignore this institutional memory.

Jason Calacanis, an American Internet entrepreneur and blogger, once said: “You have to have a big vision and take very small steps to get there.

You have to be humble as you execute but visionary and gigantic in terms of your aspiration. In the Internet industry, it’s not about grand innovation, it’s about a lot of little innovations: every day, every week, every month, making something a little bit better.” Uchumi needs a lot of little innovations in order to compete.