Top KMC officials sacked over poor performance

The Kenya Meat Commission abattoir in Athi River. KMC has sacked five managers over poor performance. FILE 

By David Herbling
 

 

In Summary

• Five managers accused of leading firm into heavy debts, condoning graft.

Operations at the Kenya Meat Commission risk grounding to a halt following the sacking of its entire leadership over poor management which has left the corporation in huge debts.

KMC’s nine-member board met on Wednesday and dismissed managing commissioner Ibrahim Haji Issak, board chairman Abdi Adan Suleiman and three other top managers following revelations that the factory is heavily indebted and unable to pay livestock suppliers.

Halima Abdillahi Shaiya, a director at the firm, was named acting chair and will be in charge of the company’s operations.

The purge of the State-owned meat processor’s top echelon becomes the third management shakeup at the company since its revival in June 2006.

Despite the government pumping in billions of shillings to jumpstart and sustain operations of the giant Athi River-based factory, KMC has continuously posted massive losses due to claims of cronyism and embezzling of funds.

“We are disappointed by the performance of KMC management and we support what the board has done,” Livestock Development PS Jacob ole Miaron told the Business Daily. “The ministry will soon lay out a strategy to turnaround the corporation.”

Management woes at KMC are likely to delay the government’s plans to privatise the firm, billed the region’s largest abattoir, meat processor and exporter. KMC currently owes farmers more than Sh220 million in unpaid invoices for livestock deliveries made since October last year.

(Read: New debt crisis stalls Kenya Meat Commission operations)

KMC has nothing to show for the more than Sh2.1 billion the government has poured into the company since its re-opening seven years ago. Rehabilitation of the facility was undertaken at a cost of Sh500 million with the government injecting a further Sh250 million annually in the firm to facilitate its operations.

It posted its first profit of Sh51 million last year after a series of massive losses despite growing demand for Kenyan meat products in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Meat from Kenya is considered a delicacy and nutritious as the animals slaughtered feed on natural forage.

Up to late last year, KMC had made inroads into the Middle East and encouraged local entrepreneurs to embrace export through its programmes.

The Middle East is a prime market for small stock products — lamb, mutton and goat meat — while corned beef is more popular in African markets as well as Saudi Arabia.

Dubai is the single largest market for KMC while in Africa, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo make up leading destinations for the processor’s monthly output of 500 metric tonnes of meat.

It exports a mix of meat products including carcasses, beef cuts, offals and value added products such as beef burgers, meat balls, sausages, canned ox tongue and corned beef.