By Leo Odera Omolo

Lobbying and jostling for the coveted post of the managing director of the Chemelil Sugar Company Limited a wholly government owned Sugar processing factory locate in Nyando district has intensified.

The CEO position fall vacant when the farmers MD.Prof Julius Omondi Nyabundi was recently shown the exit door following his dismal performance, which has left the company in dust and almost insolvent. The government could not renew his contract after the expiry of the three years.

Prof Nyabundi took over from the long serving MD Mr. Aarroun Tuikong who left the firm in a very stable and healthy financially .But whose removal is believed to have been associated with the KANU defeat in the general election of the year 2002.

There are several peers in the race seeking to be elevated to the position of the MD. They are among ten or six names reportedly shortlisted for further interviews. The Interviews and selection is being conducted by a Nairobi consultancy firm, Osano and Associates.

Among the peers whose names are said to have survived include Mr.Richard Koech, former field services manager, Joseph Otieno Mireri,the deputy financial controller and Charles Owelle ,the acting MD.

It is rumoured that close to 50 applicants had applied for the lucrative position of MD and following the first interview the numbers were trimmed down and narrowed to ten and thereafter reduced to six.

Rumours and allegations making the round within Chemelil and its environs is that nearly all the three peers who have applied for the job from within Chemelil Sugar Company are individuals who are currently under investigation by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission for various offences which include the alleged abuse of offices and corruption.

The Minister for Agriculture William Ruto is the appointing authority an d the man with the final word. But the Minister has maintained a total silent, though he is reported to be under heavy political pressure, reportedly from his cabinet colleagues and other stakeholders.

The popular opinion is that the stakeholders and members of the farming fraternity would like to see an outsider appointed. They would like someone who is well equipped with experience in financial management and managerial skills and not a political surrogate of anybody.

“The era of recruitment of political protégé and appointing incompetence and people with tainted record are long gone. Such appointments will not be accepted and farmers will go into peaceful demonstration. Minister Ruto is therefore having an uphill task to shop for a better man,” remarked a prominent sugar cane farmer in Chemelil who preferred to hide her identity for fear of reprisal..

Other repots says, the issue of selecting the next Chemelil CEO has become so tribal, hence too much jostling between the Luo,Nandi and the Kipsigis. But the level minded stakeholders have indicated that they will settle on anybody who is qualified for the job, provided such a person has an attractive track record of high class management skills.

Ruto’s position and the role of picking up the right candidate is so complicated due to political pressure mounted by his cabinet colleagues. It is also complicated because of the rampant theft, corruption at the Sugar firm which is almost insolvent due to poor and inefficient management in the recent past.

Impeccable sources have informed us that Minister Ruto, apparently aware of all the problems recently skipped and ignored the Chemelil Sugar Company stand at the just concluded Kisumu ASK Agricultural show where top Managers with the entire board members who are all suspected to have run down the company had lined up waiting to receive him. But the Minister bypassed Chemelil stand and went straight to the next stand of Muhoroni Sugar Company.

Currently under investistigation at the Chemelil Sugar Company is the alleged mysterious disappearance from the Company warehouse (stores) if 7,000 bags of 50kgs of made sugar worth Kshs 18 million

The large quantity of Sugar is alleged to have disappeared under suspicious circumstances under the store manager Mr. Moses Adanga perhaps with full knowledge of the former MD.

After the disappearance of the sugar from stores, the store manager is said to have become a multimillionaire overnight opening several business outlets in Kisumu and at Kopere market. He is alleged to have established a new petrol fuel station in Kisumu city and sugar sales depot at Kopere market on the main Chemelil-Nandi Hills road.

Insiders says that the alleged theft of Sugar is suspected to be a case of collaboration between the top company security manager Mr. Willis Wandei and the store manager, all of who are said to be relatives of the former MD.

A private security company, Bedrock which is owned by the former MD, the MP for Muhoroni Prof Ayiecho Olueny and the former MP for Nyakach Peter Ochieng’ Odoyo in providing the company with external security is also being implicated as having aborted the operation.

A source told us that bags of Sugar were ferried out of the store while covered with baggage-sugar cane wasted apparently with the full knowledge of the relevant authorities and security personnel.

Another massive theft at Chemelil Sugar Company is said to be connected with new cane harvesting from the company’s nucleus estates. Here the government company is said to have incurred a big loss of revenue, which can run into millions of shillings The unpatriotic senior manager are said to be working in collaboration some transporters in fleecing the company of millions..

After the cane is harvested in the Chemelil field cane farm several unscrupulous companies of transporters ferried the canes to the factory using fake tags and names of proxies farmers. And the money goes to proxies instead of getting into the company coffers. This kind of alleged theft has fleeced Chemelil Sugar Company almost to the ground. Some transporters mainly Asians with fleet of tractors are reported have enriched themselves at the expense of the company.

Also said to have been stolen in a mill baring whose price is estimated at Kshs 24million. The barring , though a heavy iron was ferried out on a trailer.

It is understood to have been taken to Kisumu for refurbishing only to be re-purchased and to be resold again to Chemelil Sugar Company as a brand new spare part. This kind of pilferage are said to be so common and rampant at Chemelil and the culprits always used their massive cash to “kill investigations” and get away scot free. This is usually happen when the mill is just about to undergo annual maintenance when the entire stocks of spares parts mysteriously disappears from the company stores . All these are said to happen with full knowledge of the head of purchasing and procuring department.

The workers at the mills blames two engineers who are alleged to have been dismissed from the Awendo based Sony SugarCompany ,but were later employed by the former Chemelil MD Prof Nyabundi. and he is suspected to have been involved in the spare parts scam.

The procurement Manager is Mr. Tobias Ocholla who is alleged to be a relative of the former MD Prof Nyabindi.

In the case of theft of Mill baring, someone is said to have tipped the police, though this could not be confirmed by the police.

It is also reported that the workers SACCO Bank is in the read. The SACCO is called FOSA and the removed MD is said to have borrowed colossal amount of Kshs 27 million when the Chemelil factory is facing difficulties with its cash flow, but the money has yet to be replaced back. Subsequently the farmers can o longer get loans and the same is with the workers because the FOSA account is already
milked dry.

Former MD is also reported to have borrowed Kshs 15 million from the account of Chemelil Academy. This is said to have put the school head teacher at logger heads with the company.

But other source told us that the Head master of the academy also should be investigated to explain how he will recover the money which he had lent to the company. It is also being alleged that the head master recently purchased five brand new tractors worth Kshs .5 million under suspicious circumstances.

Ends

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

– – –
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:42:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: LOBBYING AND JOSTLING FOR CHEMELIL TOP MANAGER’S POSITION INTENSIFIED AMID ALLEGATION OF MASSIVE THEFT IOF SUGAR AND MILLS SPARE PARTS.