This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
On August 1, 2019, the Privatisation Commission announced that the first of a series of reports on the financial health of five State-owned sugar companies planned for sale would be released on Tuesday next week.
The commission stated that a transaction advisor had been on the ground, guiding the process that had already missed a 120-day deadline set by the Council of Governors and Agriculture ministry.
The inception report, expected to be released on Tuesday, will capture details including a summary of financials for the companies in the last five years, Acts governing their operations, shareholding structures, as well as capacity and condition of the millers.
According to Joseph Koskey, the commission's chief executive, the transaction advisor will be required to update due diligence work, including reviewing the financial, commercial, operational, technical, and legal performance of the companies.
They will also be expected to prepare projections necessary for the financial valuation of each of the five sugar mills, namely South Nyanza, Nzoia, Chemelil, Muhoroni, and Miwani.
Plans to sell the loss-making millers have been in the cards for years, with the government announcing in October 2015 that it had written off Sh39.7 billion owed by the companies, aiming to ease their planned privatisation.
