CS Oparanya calls for calm over sugar mill leases
He expressed strong support for the government’s plan to lease out State-owned sugar mills.
Cooperatives and MSMEs Development Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya has expressed strong support for the government’s plan to lease out State-owned sugar mills, describing it as a long-overdue step essential to resuscitating the ailing industry.
Oparanya noted that the majority of these factories have been grappling with severe financial challenges, running at a loss for extended periods and struggling to maintain viable operations.
Speaking as the transition process kicked off, Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya highlighted that the State-owned sugar factories have long operated with outdated equipment, significantly hampering their ability to produce raw and refined sugar efficiently.
He urged sugarcane farmers and stakeholders to support the newly selected strategic investors, giving them space and time to breathe new life into a sector crippled by years of poor management and inadequate investment.
Oparanya, who chaired the Presidential Task Force on Sugar, said the team had identified leasing as the most practical and sustainable path to revival, proposing contracts not exceeding 20 years.
"We determined that leasing was the most effective way to commercialize and revamp these mills," he said.
"Government bureaucracy has proven time and again that it is ill-suited to run commercial enterprises. We’ve had decades of stagnation. It’s time we let private investors take the reins."
His comments followed a directive from Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, who ordered the immediate transfer of management for key sugar mills, Nzoia, Chemelil, Muhoroni, and Sony Sugar, to the appointed strategic investors by last Saturday.
On Monday, 12 May 2025, President William Ruto and Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe dismissed board chairs and members of the four major sugar factories following the handover of the companies to private firms.
According to a gazette notice dated May 12, the top leadership of Chemelil, Nzoia, Sony, and Muhoroni sugar companies were shown the door.
Among those affected is John Nyambok, who was chair of the Chemelil Sugar board.
Alfred Khang’ati, who headed the Nzoia Sugar board, and Jared Odhiambo Opiyo, who led the South Nyanza (Sony) Sugar board, were also removed from office.
