National News
Anxiety grips sugar firm as chairman quits
Updated on: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Story by: By Juma Aluoch and Titus Maero

ANXIETY has gripped South Nyanza Sugar Company (SONY) following the surprise resignation of board chairman. Herbert Ojuang resigned citing alleged frustration by a senior minister from the region. He cited among others, an alleged scrap metal deal for a firm which the he claimed minister wanted him to have unilaterally awarded without the board’s approval. Ojuang resigned in a letter dated September 15, 2008 to the minister for Agriculture William Ruto, and copied to the Head of Public Service and the permanent secretary in the ministry of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, operations at Mumias Sugar Company were crippled as cane cutters’ strike entered its second day yesterday. The over 14,000 harvesters have vowed not to resume duty unless they were paid salary arrears by MSC amounting to millions of shillings. They said they were awarded the increment two years ago but MSC only started paying them the new rates this year. The cutters who assembled at their zones, told reporters the new salary should have been backdated by two years.

One of the cutters, Simon Waswa, said they were owed millions of shillings by the miller given the large number of cutters in the area. Waswa said the cutters are drawn from Mumias, Butere and Busia districts. Cane transporting companies kept their haulage tractors in their yards awaiting communication from MSC management on the way forward. At the same time, eight directors of Mumias Sugarcane Out growers Company (MOCO) yesterday defended the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company against claimed of mismanaging the firm.

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Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:41:02 +0000
From: Nicholas Mireri
Subject: Herbert Ojwang resigns from SONY !!!