A section of Members of Parliament (MPs) has disclosed that the government is planning to sell Mumias Sugar Company to a private investor linked to high-ranking government officials.
Led by Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale, the MPs claimed that top State officials were pushing to have the company put under receivership before being sold off cheaply to the private investor.
"They are pushing hard to have the company sold. They want to buy it cheaply by arguing that it is not viable, just as they did with Webuye Pan Paper," Khalwale stated.
He further claimed that the government was not genuine in its attempts to revive the cash-strapped sugar miller.
"Mumias Sugar Company is a victim of specific people and forces in the Government who want to buy the company," he stated.
The senator alleged that this is part of a wider scheme by sugar cartels to monopolise the sugar industry.
His sentiments were echoed by Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe who disclosed that "business scavengers" of Asian origin had been spotted at government offices with the aim of buying the miller.
The allegations come in the midst of biting sugar shortage in the country that has seen the price of the commodity rise sharply.
