Navakholo Member of Parliament Emmanuel Wangwe on Friday, June 16, proposed the reintroduction of the Sugar Act, which was repealed in 2013, to help regulate sugar prices in Kenya.
According to the MP, who leads the National Assembly's Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, the act will help in the regulation, development and promotion of the sugar industry in Kenya which will also regulate the price of sugar.
The act will also compel the state to establish the Kenya Sugar Board and define its powers and functions that include licensing sugar mills.
In the Act, the board shall be tasked with monitoring the domestic market with a view of identifying and advising the governments and interested parties on any distortions in the sugar market.
It will also facilitate an equitable mechanism for the pricing of sugar cane and appropriation of proceeds from the disposal of the by-products of sugar products between millers and growers as stipulated in the guidelines.
Wangwe made the remarks during a tour of Kwale County where sugar cane farmers complained of unfavorable conditions in the market.
Officials and the sugar industry stakeholders, including the General Manager Pamela Ogado from the Kwale International Sugar Industries (KISCOL), complained of squatters on its land hindering the operations at the sugar processing facility.
She noted that the land in question was a sub-lease from the government but squatters had invaded a portion of it.
The Agriculture Committee is also scheduled to hold talks with other industry stakeholders before tabling the bill.
Finance Bill Tax on Sugar
While presenting the 2023/2024 budget before Parliament on Thursday, June 15, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u proposed an exercise duty to sugar explaining that the move would curb over-consumption because the product is linked to various ailments.
“To discourage consumption of sugar, I propose to the National Assembly to introduce excise duty on imported sugar at the rate of Ksh 5.0 per kilogram excluding the sugar imported or purchased locally by registered pharmaceutical manufacturers for use in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products,” he stated.
Currently, Kenyans are paying Ksh200 for a kilogram of sugar and prices are expected to rise after Njuguna's proposal.
On May 24, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi announced plans to import 180,000 tonnes of sugar due to the severe shortage across the commodity.
"It is unfortunate because we should be crashing sugar from within the country that should be able to sustain our market," the CS complained.
