The Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture has appointed an interim management committee that will oversee the leasing of the five state-owned sugar mills.
Agriculture CS Peter Munya, through Gazette Notice No. 5473, says “In the period leading up to the leasing and in order to strengthen the fiduciary responsibilities of management, the Ministry has set up an Interim Management Committee to oversee the operations of the Sugar Mills during this transition period before the eventual takeover by the successful bidders.”
The members of the committee include: Agriculture Cabinet Administrative Secretary Anne Nyaga will chair the team and members include: Anthony Murithi, Grace Agili (Ms), CPA Michael Wanjala, Stephen Ligawa, Harun Kirui, Francis Ooko, Gabriel Nyangweso, and Rosemary Owino (Ms.) – Secretary.
They will be tasked with receiving, reviewing, and making recommendations on issues related to the respective Sugar Mills.
The issues will include job contracts, payment of wages, management of suppliers, forward sales and other credit arrangements, staff and grower arrears as well as security arrangements.
“The Committee shall be for a term up to when the last of the five (5) sugar mills is handed over to the successful bidder,” says Munya.
The five state-owned mills are Nzoia Sugar Company, Chemelil Sugar Company, Miwani Sugar Company (in Receivership), Muhoroni Sugar Company (in Receivership) and South Nyanza Sugar Company.
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Currently, twenty-nine companies have expressed interest to lease the mills.
The companies now prequalified for the lease had presented their interest and documents online and other physically, when the government through an International Expression of Interest advertised on 10th July 2020 and closed the bidding on 3rd August 2020.
Some of the companies that presented their Expression of Interest (EOI) include local private companies among them Butali, Sukari, Kibos, Trans Mara and consortium of cooperative societies.
