This archive report was first published on 7 July 2020.
On July 7, 2020, the Kenyan government cleared a long-standing debt of KSh 185 million owed by coffee miller New Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (KPCU) to KCB Group.
This move has lifted KPCU out of receivership, a state that has crippled its operations for decades. The company had been under receivership since 2009 after failing to honour its financial obligations amounting to over KSh 700 million.
According to Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Ann Nyaga, part of the KSh 3 billion received as coffee cherry fund has been used to clear this debt.
A newly reconstituted KPCU has also paid up KSh 68 million owed to coffee farmers, an amount that has remained uncleared for years.
President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed Ex-Nyeri County Cabinet Minister for Agriculture Mr Henry Gichui Kinyua as Board Chairman of the newly reconstituted Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (KPCU) in January this year.
The government had taken over the defunct KPCU following a presidential directive in August 2019, with the Acting Commissioner for Co-operatives Geoffrey Njangombe appointing liquidators of the giant coffee union.
It remains unclear whether the liquidation process will also involve state intervention to clear the KSh 1.6 billion outstanding payments that the old KPCU still owes Coffee Board of Kenya.
The liquidation team is expected to complete its work within six months, as stated in February.
There is still anxiety about whether the government will reinstate the coffee brewer's milling license, allowing it to access foreign markets that remain closed to the Union.
KPCU owns vast pieces of land and warehousing facilities, as well as a supply network, with assets valued at an estimated KSh 5 billion and representing the interests of over 800,000 coffee farmers.
