BY HARRIET MUGO
The giant Mumias Sugar Company has started processing caje again after being closed for more than five years.
The company stopped grinding sugar in 2017 due to large debts owed by financial institutions and other lenders.
The company, under receivership, has recalled some former employees in the production department.
On Wednesday, the operations manager of the factory, Stephen Kihumba said the company is still on trial but sugar milling is going on.
“We rely on farmers to send sugarcane when we are working on making our core business. The farmers are happy and work is being done in Mumias once again,” Kihumba said.
He said that the company currently grinds 2,000 tons of sugarcane per day. The factory established in 1973 has an internal capacity of 8,400 TCD.
The manager said the company pays farmers who deliver sugarcane every week at the rate of Sh4,585 per ton.
He added that the company has called more than 500 former employees.
“It would take too long if we were to train new workers and that’s why we called old workers, especially in the production part,” he said.
The restoration of the operations of the milling company in East and Central Africa has created a new situation in the town of Mumias which was a town of violence following the collapse of the company.
The economy of the Western counties has been in recession for almost a decade following the poor performance of the sugar industry.
The company collapsed more than three years ago due to heavy debts.
It was placed under receivership by the Commercial Bank of Kenya group in September 2019.
In his swearing-in speech on October 4, Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa called out groups that have hampered the company’s revival efforts for personal and material gain.
“As we carry out our role in this course, I call on political leaders to show goodwill and support from all stakeholders in the recovery of the company,” he said.
