President William Ruto has yet again fired a warning shot against barons who he accused of crippling the operations of sugar companies in Kenya,
Speaking on Sunday in Migori County, Ruto said the sugar barons have mismanaged funds at the sugar mills; which has led to the companies accumulating a debt of Ksh117 billion.
“They have been taking us to court because they are used to stealing from us. We cannot continue keeping public money in a hole. Give me a chance to deal with these culprits.
“I must be hard on these people. These people, mambo yao ni matatu. The business of taking government money to pay farmers cannot be done any more,” he stated.
The President went on to say the government will pay sugar farmers their dues by December in a move to revive the sugar sector.
“I have agreed for the last time to use taxpayers’ money to pay the farmers and the payment will be made by December but those behind this will not go scot-free, I will be tough on them,” he noted.
Ruto also said the old sugar mills will be replaced by new ones to ensure efficiency.
“We will ensure that whoever will lease these facilities, we have to agree on how we are going to have a new mill that is going to serve us better and efficiently, farmers must be paid on time and we eliminate the challenges that we have had in the past,” Ruto added.
The Head of State further said there will be a clear communication in the next three weeks on how the factories will be revived under proper management.
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