This archive report was first published on 29 August 2019.
More than 50 years after the establishment of sugar factories in Kenya, the country still imports a third of its sugar needs, and vast areas around the factories remain impoverished.
The main reason for the industry's failure is the government's control and patronage, which has led to corruption, nepotism, and the pillaging of the factories.
Despite various attempts to revive the industry, the sugar factories remain decrepit and function below capacity, with outdated productivity yardsticks and bad habits like zoning contributing to their decline.
It is time for the government to address this shameful blot on Kenya's economic and social landscape and implement a coherent plan of action to revive the industry.
This plan should involve the privatisation of the sugar factories, focusing on getting the best for them and their workers, and ensuring that successful bidders have the necessary financial means, commercial capability, and ability to develop and sustain farmers.
County governments must also live up to their responsibilities in maintaining sugar-belt roads, and the Sugar Development Levy should be reinstated to provide financial support for this.
However, a line must be drawn between the county governments' role in road maintenance and their involvement in the day-to-day operations of the factories.
The central government's role is to provide the right policy framework and enabling environment for the revamped operations to function and grow, not to be involved in their commercial operations.
