Residents of Kisumu County hold demonstrations at the entrance to Kibos Sugar factory on July 21, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Chairman Raju Chatthe Friday told the Senate Committee Agriculture that most of the pronouncements by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) caught it by surprise.
- Mr Chatthe also raised concerns that the company has experienced difficulties having its Sh20 billion sugar refinery operationalised due to a licensing problem.
Kibos Sugar company has accused Nema of crippling its operations and putting it on a collision path with residents of Kisumu County.
Chairman Raju Chatthe Friday told the Senate Committee Agriculture that most of the pronouncements by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) catch it by surprise.
"It is unfortunate that Nema always ambushes us with closure notices when we have been working closely in implementation of some of the requirements," Mr Chatthe told the committee chaired by Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua on Friday.
Mr Chatthe also raised concerns that the company has experienced difficulties having its Sh20 billion sugar refinery operationalised due to a licensing problem.
"For the past four years, we have not received any communication from ministries including Trade and Agriculture," he said.
He said the delayed approval forced Kibos to consider relocating the only factory in the region to neighbouring Rwanda.
Senators’ concerns
Ten members of the committee held a session at the company premises before embarking on a fact-finding tour.
During the session, Kisumu Senator Fred Outa claimed Nema is used by Kibos’ business rivals to sabotage its operations.
"It is inconceivable that the company, which has employed thousands of residents, is constantly threatened with notices of closure instead of being assisted to meet the threshold," he said.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei called on Nema to make public its environmental audit on all manufacturing industries in the country.
Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang' appealed to the regulatory body to find an amicable way of resolving issues and helping companies create employment for youths.
"We do not want a situation where Nema becomes a bottleneck to the government's realisation of the Big Four Agenda," he said.
Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, while noting that the licensing procedure should be expedited, said he will take the matter to the floor of the Senate.
"We cannot allow investors to be frustrated when Kibos has indicated that it has the potential to employ more than 5,000 people," he said. The miller serves six counties neighbouring Kisumu.
Next steps
Senator Wambua said their fact-finding mission established that the company had observed environmental standards on disposal of effluent to the neighbouring River Kibos.
"While we will be depending on our technical team and Nema to give us verifiable findings, we have observed that the factory has invested in an effluent plant and recycles the water for use at the factory," he said.
He said the committee will, in the next three weeks, compile its report on the company and table it at the Senate for members to take a vote on what needs to be done.
The committee is expected to summon Nema's management for allegedly targeting Kibos.
Nema ordered Kibos’ closure alongside its affiliates over pollution. The order issued in March affected all associated factories including the distillery, paper plant, gas plant and the sugar miller.
Nema's Director-General Mamo Boru Mamo said the decision was taken after the company defied air quality regulations of 2014 and failed to comply with other orders.
"Nema did ambient air quality monitoring. The results show a very high concentration of particulate matter (PM), which was found to be above the national air quality standard of PM10," he said.
Mr Mamo further said Kibos' emission was more than five times the internationally accepted standard of 50 micrometers.
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