Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has urged the government to prioritise Mwea farmers within its plans to privatise the Mwea Rice Mills (MRM).
Waiguru spoke on Tuesday, November 11, during a State of the County address where she was asked about the fate of farmers amid the government's plans to privatise the renowned rice company.
The governor emphasised that while she was not necessarily opposed to privatisation, Mwea farmers ought to be at the forefront of purchasing shares.
“When privatisation is being done, priority should be given to Mwea farmers to purchase those government shares before any other private individual," the governor said.
"That would only be fair because these mills have been serviced by the sweat of Mwea farmers,” she said.
Privatisation Authority
On October 15, President William Ruto signed the Privatisation Bill into law following the approval by the National Assembly in what was a deliberate effort to repeal the Privatization Act 2005 and re-enact the regulatory plan for the privatization of public entities.
Effectively, the Act created a Privatisation Authority to replace the Privatisation Commission and the new law cleared the way for the sale of 11 State companies including MRM.
But the new law hit a snag days later after a Kerugoya High Court issued conservatory orders suspending the privatisation of MRM, pending the hearing and determination of a petition filed by two rice farmers.
The orders specifically applied to the MRM and not the entire Privatisation Act.
Amid rice farmers' woes, Governor Waiguru has, in recent months, voiced concerns over challenges, including the duty-free importation of basmati rice, which the county boss insists was undermining local production.
Meanwhile, the government , through Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, has insisted that it is in the best interest to keep importing rice, otherwise the country could be hit with acute food shortage.
To highlight the dire situation, the CS projected that rice consumption per capita in Kenya will reach 29 kilograms by 2025, with the Kenyan population expected to hit 54.79 million.
