The future of Sarai Group as the manager of Mumias Sugar Company hangs in the balance after President William Ruto threatened to evict them over what he termed as an insignificant contribution to the revival of the company.
Speaking during his tour of Western Kenya on December 8, the president accused the Sarai group of not working toward benefiting the people who house the once glorious sugar company.
“Mumias Sugar Company, for example, has consumed a lot of funding from the National Treasury, yet nothing is improving. It is not benefiting the locals who donated over 15,000 acres of their land nor the county government. I will meet with leaders from this region to come up with a lasting solution,” said President Ruto.
Read: Uganda’s Sarrai Group Lose Mumias Sugar Deal
The president made clear his intentions to bring in a new investor who will put the interest of the locals first by creating jobs and fostering corporate social responsibility.
“The government will clear all outstanding debts of the miller and bring in a new investor under an agreement that he will be remitting Sh100 million monthly to the County Government of Kakamega to improve on standards of education, health and improve the road network,” he said.
Kakamega County gubernatorial aspirant in the August 9th election, Cleophas Malala, accused the group of starving residents through joblessness, saying they imported labour from Uganda where Sarai owns other two sugar millers.
“We want the local workforce at Mumias to come from the local communities so that they can feel the benefit of having a factory within their vicinity. Unfortunately, people who donated their land for the establishment of the factory have been locked out of Mumias,” said Malala.
Read: Sarrai Group Accused Of Delaying Staff Payments
On the other hand, the cracks between Sarai Group and Mumias sugar staff continue to widen.
On the same day that the president visited the home county of the giant miller, workers protested that the management company had issued an eviction notice for the employees.
The workers have been given until the end of this month to vacate the company’s premises.
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