By A Special Correspondent.

Information emerging from Nyando district within Kisumu County says Chemelil Sugar Company Limited is on the verge of total collapse and near insolvent.

Unconfirmed reports says that the Company, which is wholly-government owned has lost close to Khs 500 million ever since October last year when its former efficient management team was kicked out following tribally and politically motivated change of guard.

The facility, which for many years was known as the center of excellence in the permanently ailing sugar industry in Kenya is no longer paying ts cane suppliers in time, the salary for its workers also comes late, and its suppliers are yet to be paid for their bills running into millions.

Last week the Kenya Power an Lighting briefly disconnected its electricity supplies almost plunging the facility into to total darkness for non-payment of power ills estimated to be outstanding at the tune of Kshs 36 millions.

The KJPL, however, quickly restored the power supply the next day following an appeal by the authorities taht the disconnection would put to a big risk the company property by vandalized or stolen if it remain in darkness for several days.

Cane farmers I its cane growing zones have boycotted the delivery of raw cane facility owing to the delayed payment for cane bills. Instead those from the Nandi Escarpment areas of Chemase, Miwani and Songhor were now delivering their cane to the Kibos Sugar and Allied Industry mills near Kibos in the outskirt of Kisumu City and to the nearby Muhoroni Sugar Mills and avoiding Chemelil claiming they have yet to receive payment for one and half month.

In October last year the former managing director of Chemelil Sugar Company Eng Edwin Otieno Luhyia, and the most efficient CEO who ad turned the company around was kicked out following a protracted politically and tribally motivated.

Eng Musebe was replaced by the man who he had beaten at the interview during his appointment Charles Apudo Owelle,a Luo in acting capacity. Owelle had also acted as an acting CEO in the previous change over of the company management, and had also applied to be confirmed on the job, but was unsuccessful. However, he was retained in his position as the company Agricultural Services manager.

He chairman of the boar of directors Dr. M Mining, a Nandi and a senior lecturer at the Moi University, Eldoret was also removed, removed and replaced by a Luo in what was seen as the battle for the control of the facility between the Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the Eldoret North Mp Willam Ruto. The sacked officials were perceived to have been employed under the influence of Ruto wile the latter was still serving as the Agricultural Minister. Ruto was shown the exit door and replaced by Dr. Sally Kosgei, a fellow Kalenjin from the Nandi sub-tribe.

Information emerging from impeccable sources within the company says, the board has since confirmed Owelle as the new Managing Director in a controversial and suspicious in which a lot of water is said to have passed under the bridge and unconfirmed allegations of intensive maneuvers coupled with claims and of bribery.

Insiders say the appointment could have been brokered and influenced by the Lands Minister James Orengo and other top officials fro the parent Ministry in Nairobi. This is because Owelle hail from his Ugenya constituency, while the political big-wigs in Nyando were in favor and keen to have one of the top mangers at the nearby Agro-Chemical Company, a man from the local Kano community within Nyando district.

The Company cane crushing and processing mills are crippled due to lack of regular mechanical maintenance at a regular interval owing to lack of funds. It has been experiencing regular breakdown due to the fact that it has never had its annual mechanical maintenance for a couple of years and now operating at its production capacity due to its present poor mechanical status and also owing to acute shortage of cane supplies.

The same source says that before the removal of the former management team, tribally instigated act of sabotage involving secretly and deliberately crippling the mills by workers were the order o the day.

Due to the fact that the former Managing Director eng. Musebe was a Luhyia, the Luo workers engineers and, electrical engineers and mechanics working at the facility were instigated to sabotage to undermine and undercut the previous management local politicians who were not comfortable with the team.

The Eng.Musebe nd Dr. Mining team had replaced the previous management headed by a Luo university professor which left in huff while the company was down to its knees as the result of poor management an alleged embezzlement of its resources prompting the defunct KACC under Prof. P.O. Lumumba to swing into action. But so far no report his come out about the KJACC investigations and nobody has been charged with the alleged disappearance of millions of shillings, giving the credence to the popularly coined word that “The Sugar Industry is a milking cow.”

Other rumors making the round says that two to manager of the firm are currently building palatial homes one near Moi University, Eldoret and the other one at Kibos near the KPA Inland Terminal.

The government through the Ministry of Agriculture has been asked to explain the alleged current disappearance of millions of shillings from Chemelil Sugar Company.

Ends