BY JEFF OTIENO
Farmers and transporters in the sugar industry have hailed Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries for being in comformity with what they’ve yawned for years in terms of their demands.
The fast growing miller with a workforce of 2700 workers has come up with an aggressive policy frame work which has sent other millers to go to the drawing board.
Resilient Kibos Sugar pays a staggering Kshs. 25m to farmers and transporters per week in transport and cane deliveries.
As privatization beckons around the corner, key industry players views the miller to be having a head start. With a capacity of 1650 tonnnes per day, Kibos is the only miller which has conformed with a ministerial directive to install a weigh bridge close to farmers to avert spillage and unnecessary hefty transport costs.
In the entire country it’s only the giant Mumias Sugar which manufactures electricity with a mark of 28 megawatts to the national grid and has also finalized ambitious plans to manufacture mineral water in its quest to diversify income.
Few months to come Kibos will produce 25 megawatts out of which 22 will go to the national grid and 3 for its own consumption. Already they produce 3 megawatts for their own internal consumption.
“We’ve hired a foreign consultant firm to do the study and soon we will hit the road,” said Raju Channan the company Managing Director.
With the newly launched ultra modern multi million weigh bridge in Awasi Nyando District, the company has sent cold shivers in the spines of other millers and other industry players who view their abrasive approach as reminiscent to “a coup”.
Currently they pay farmers an impressive Kshs.3, 050 per tonne weekly. In a desperate bid to compete them, other millers a fortnight ago followed suit and increased their payment from a paltry Kshs.2,700/= to Kshs.2,850/= per tonne albeit with little change in the litmus.
With most of the millers owing farmers whooping millions of shillings and with the Government having no quick remedy in place in terms of rescue mechanisms, Kibos is set to call shots at least for now.
Some three sugar board members names withheld recently confided to this writer that even the controversial moribund Miwani Sugar factory should be given to Kibos Sugar to revive it as per their initial bid where they were found to be the highest bidders.
“What’s the basis of having huge chunks of land lying fallow for ages yet our people are dying of hunger and we’ve got potential investors who have shown commitment and capacity to run it,” they argued.
“Our local politicians should give investors time to operate devoid of coercion,” they thundered.
Kibos is ready to offload 30% shares to the locals given the chance to run the once vibrant miller.
Currently, the once giant firm is deeply embroiled in endless controversies with one local influential politician with no idea to run a sugar company, said to be interested through a consortium, no wander the stalemate to resuscitate it for now a several years to the chagrin of locals.
Although its machines have been dismissed by experts as out dated and defective, Miwani has got thousands of nucleus, no wander the perpetual wrangles to own it.
With its ultimate revival, it will open flood gates economic wise for the natives of Kano and its environs.
Most natives of Kano and in the neighboring Kalenjin constituencies are now opting to plough their lands to plant the lucrative sugar cane which they say is labour intensive but of higher value compared to other crops which only benefits middle men.
END.
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From: JEFF
Date: Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 2:23 AM
Subject: KIBOS SUGAR HAILED A HEAD OF PRIVATIZATION