Mumias Sugar resumes on December 1

Mumias Sugar Company has announced it will resume operations next week after a four-month shutdown occasioned by lack of mature cane.

In a public notice on Friday, the company said it will start harvesting and receiving cane at its weighbridges on Monday as it also revealed that the cane price will be Sh6,050 per tonne.

The announcement came as leaders from Western Kenya continued with their efforts to write off debts owed by the miller, which stand at Sh39 billion, written off.

Saturday, Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa led MPs from the region to pay courtesy visit to President Ruto at State House, Nairobi.

"We are aware of Cabinet approval of Sh117 billion debts owed by five state factories which did not include Mumias Sugar. The President is going to have a specific team to look at the issue of debt of the factory to ensure it starts operations from December 1, so that farmers are paid once they deliver sugarcane," said Barasa.

President Ruto is set to visit the region soon.

Barasa, who was also accompanied by, among others, Senator Boni Khalwale, said: "Under the revival plan, the government is going to support the company in cane development and ensure that the factory is run sustainably."

Others were MPs Nabii Nabwera (Lugari), Innocent Mugabe (Likuyani), Johnson Naicca (Mumias West), Benard Shinali (Ikolomani) and Titus Khamala (Lurambi).

Christopher Aseka (Khwisero), Malulu Injendi (Malava), Tindi Mwale (Butere), Fred Ikana (Shinyalu) and Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo) were also in the team that went to State House.

A Sugar Bill formulated by Wangwe seeks to have the debts owed by the millers written off and their operations streamlined.

Khalwale said that the Bill currently at the Senate had some controversial sections especially to do with zoning.

"We are quite pleased to announce to our people that from next month they will be free to sell their cane to Mumia Sugar company, West Kenya, Nzoia and so on. We want to do the contentious zoning so that even as we pass the law of zoning, it doesn't hurt any particular zone or milling factory," he said.

"We have had Kabras Sugar and Butali sugar advertise their new cane buying rates and we hope that once Mumias Sugar comes back on board, they will learn from the rest and come up with new rates," Khalwale said.