A fresh crisis is emerging in the sugar industry as factory workers demand pending cane dues worth Sh600 million. The workers wants the government to prioritize the payment, which is part of the Sh5 billion debt they claim they are owed by government-owned sugar firms, reported The Saturday Standard.
Led by the Kenya Union of Sugarcane Workers Secretary General Francis Wangara, the workers stated that while payment of the arrears had been approved, they have yet to receive any funds. “The communication we received indicated that a portion of the Sh5 billion would be included in the supplementary budget. The amount was about Sh600 million, with each of the four factories expected to receive Sh150 million to pay workers’ arrears,” said Wangara.
Wangara expressed disappointment that President William Ruto did not address the issue of workers’ arrears during the Madaraka Day celebrations in Bungoma last week. “He did not mention anything about workers’ arrears. We are not happy that he failed to address this,” he said.
The workers also criticized the President for promising to pay Nzoia Sugar Factory workers Sh150 million out of the arrears owed to them when he visited Kimilili while neglecting the other three factories. “When workers hear that Nzoia factory is going to be paid, they will accuse the national chairman of favouring his people and abandoning others. He is the national chairman but from Nzoia Sugar Factory,” Wangara observed.
