From: Leo Odera Omolo
Date: Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 9:34 PM

Before the new team took over, Chemelil Sugar Factory had undergone work for more than five years without the stoppage for its annual maintenance work. Its crushing mills had become obsolete and worn out.

This had adversely affected its production capacity, which is approximately 3000 bags of made sugar per day to its lowest ebb. The factory could only manage to produce a paltry figure of between 600 and 1200 per day, which was not even half of its production capacity, leading to the outcry by sugar cane farmers in its cane growing zone, who went for months without payment, for their cane delivery bills

But the situation has changed dramatically under the new management, and the factory has recently undergone its annual maintenance. All its mills are now functioning well, signifying the beginning of good things.

The management recently sent nonperforming factory engineers packing. Those kicked out were Eng. Elisha Bach, in charge of mills, and Eng. Felix Alwala, who was in charge of the maintenance. The removal of the two engineers has also sparked off claims that Luos were being victimized. But the two are said to have received several warning letters before they were eventually axed.

It has also been confirmed that the two engineers had earlier served with the company, but were removed by the previous management only to be reinstated by the new management.

Our investigations has also revealed that not all the purged workers on the allegations of uttering forged academic certificates were exclusively Luos. They included the Kalenjin, Luhiya, Kisii and others. Of course the number of Luos involved in this scam exceeded members of other communities, owing to the geographically location of the facility, which is situated right in the middle of Luoland

There are unconfirmed reports of politically motivated acts of sabotage on the part of junior technicians, mechanics, foremen and, others who are charged with the responsibilities of day to day supervisions and ensuring the mills are functioning well. It is being alleged that the politicians are the sponsors, and their aims and objectives is to cause the failure of the new management, simply because the team is headed by a non-Luo.

This, in the eyes of members of the farming community is naive and a dangerous precedent, because there are numerous companies, which are located outside Luo-Nyanza , which are headed and efficiently managed by Luos as CEOs, so the narrow argument being advanced here is rather shallow, and does not hold any water.

There has been reports of flopped planned demonstrations at the gate of Chemelil Sugar Company, in order to remove the new management team. If such a move bears any fruit, then this will amount to a breach of the peace, and the law breakers would definitely face the music when they are caught in the act.

The Muhoroni MP, Prof. Patrick Ayiecho Olweny, according to impeccable source at Chemelil, is not comfortable with the new management at the facility. And so are his political surrogates, who include the chairman of the Nyando County Council, Coun. Onyango Ong’ou, and other civic leaders in the area.

Several meetings called by the farmers in the area, to deliberate on contentious issues, concerning the sugar factories, are usually violently dispersed by hired political goons, some of them allegedly imported from the dreaded Kisumu Kondele Bagdad Boys. The government security network must ensure that these goons steer clear of the sugar industry.

Prof.Olweny, who is an Assistant Minister of Education, is a member of the coalition government that owns Chemelil Sugar Company, and as such he should be in the forefront advocating good governance and efficient management at the facility.

He should come out of his hiding and tell his people to work with the new management at the Chemelil Sugar Company, for the mutual benefits of cane farmers in the area.

Moreover, the company is receiving raw deliveries from South and North Nandi districts, as well as Ainamoi and Belgut constituencies, and not exclusively relying on cane supplies from Kano plains and Muhoroni settlement.

The farmers want the government to intervene with a view to ensure that Chemelil Sugar Company is kept out of tribal politics, and its management set free to do their jobs of running the factory, in a manner which is devoid of gross political interferences in its day to day management, as it grapples with myriad of problems.

Ends

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
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Subject: Farmers want politician kept out of Chemelil Sugar Company in Muhoroni district