This archive report was first published on 30 October 2019.
On October 25, 2019, Deputy President William Ruto announced that the national government was ready to relinquish its 20 per cent shareholding in the struggling Mumias Sugar Company to the county government of Kakamega after it presented a revival plan.
Lugari MP Ayub Savula has accused Ruto of playing politics with the economy of Western Kenya, saying the move was a ploy to win votes in the region ahead of the 2022 general elections.
Savula claimed that the county government had been demanding the shares so it could gain access to the board of management to make decisions and start restructuring the miller, but the National Treasury declined.
“The county government has been demanding these shares so it could gain access to the board of management to make decisions and start restructuring the miller but the National Treasury declined. Why hand over the shares when they cannot help in its revival?” Savula said.
He also accused Ruto of donating millions to schools in Western Kenya for political reasons, saying it was too late for the company to be revived.
“When the people of Western cried that the company was ailing, he was busy donating millions to schools for political reasons. How do you give the county shares without money? It’s too late that the company is under receivership,” Savula said.
Yesterday, Savula warned that Luhya MPs who follow Ruto for handouts at the expense of the people will all be sent packing come 2022.
Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala also weighed in, saying the DP should ensure all debts owed by the company are written off before surrendering the shares.
“Giving the county shares that have debts is like transferring 20 per cent of Mumias loans to the county government. We are asking our brothers from Western who joined Jubilee at the instigation of the DP on the grounds they wanted the region to access development to tell us what the region has benefited from the Jubilee administration,” Malala said.
