Residents of Mumias town are bathing in swathes of joy after East and Central Africa’s largest sugarcane miller, Mumias Sugar Company resumed operations on Tuesday, July 26.
The miller started crushing cane following a successful troubleshooting exercise by the Sarrai Group after a five-year hiatus.
Yesterday, Kakamega Governor H.E Dr. FCPA Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya toured the factory and expressed optimism that it will roar back to life if local leaders keep politics off its revival.
In his address to the media, the Governor thanked Sarrai Group for remaining committed to its revival plan of the miller adding that as the Co-Chair of the National Sugar Taskforce, one of the recommendations of the Committee was to lease the factory to a reputable company that is capable of resuscitating the giant miller after repairs on the worn out machines.
Oparanya announced that the company will be paying farmers on a weekly basis urging residents growing cane to register with the factory for the supply of the raw material to Mumias.
The new company has also retained experienced former company employees as it looks forward to commencing full operations. A fleet of tractors has already been purchased ready for transportation of cane.
In January 2018, Ecobank Kenya, KCB and Commercial Bank of Africa demanded debts amounting to Sh1.7 billion, Sh480.1 million and Sh364.5 million loans respectively be paid by the insolvent company.
In 2019, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) announced the plans to place the troubled miller under receivership.
The bank appointed PVR Rao (Tact Consultancy Services) as the sugar company’s receiver manager.
Rao acted as the appointed receiver and manager of the KCB long-term debt charged against the firm’s assets.
Mumias’ shares later closed at Sh0.27, having dropped by 3.57 per cent, holding a net worth of Sh305.10 million.
