Africa-Press – Kenya. Chemelil Sugar Company in Muhoroni, Kisumu county has resumed production after undergoing three-month maintenance. The Sh220 million government-funded maintenance was undertaken between April and July this year.
The company’s acting managing director Gabriel Nyangweso said they used the money to service and procure various key components that ran the factory. “We thank the government for the grant that they gave which has given us a leap of life,” Nyangweso said.
He pointed out that the factory was back in production after resuming operations on August 28, 2022. “We have improved our products from an initial 30 per cent to now 60 per cent of our capacity. We are able to crush 2,000 tonnes of cane on a daily basis,” he said.
The MD revealed that they have reduced the factory’s breakdowns as they are now able to run the factory almost 98 per cent of the time without breakdown. This, he said, means the maintenance was very effective for the key areas that were targeted.
“We still have areas to be worked on in terms of maintenance and we have plans to ensure we procure those parts so that by the next maintenance we will be able to fix the parts,” Nyangweso said.
The maintenance is expected to be undertaken between October and November next year (2023). Already, the factory management has secured the parts for the chains and boilers which are expected at the Mombasa ports within two months.
This, he said, will help the factory in planning the next maintenance. The factory accrued farmers’ arrears worth Sh 235 million between January and March before maintenance.
“We anticipate clearing the arrears in the next six months. That is the plan we have as a factory,” Nyangweso said. He disclosed that they are currently paying for canes received within a week.
Besides being current on payments, the factory was also paying Sh 7.5 million every week from September this year to farmers towards the arrears. The MD praised the community for their support which the factory does not take for granted.
“They have stood with us and the response of farmers has been very good. We have been getting adequate canes to be able to mill,” he said.
Nyangweso pledged that the factory will continue to support the farmers in the best way possible on matters of payments. Going forward, Nyangweso said they expect to make the factory vibrant and restore its lost glory.
He also lauded the staff for exemplary work despite difficulties in salary payments in the past. “We have gone lean periods but now the staff are happy based on the efforts they are putting in their working place,” Nyangweso said.
The workers, he added, are united and committed to smooth operations and thank them for their support. He pointed out that the factory owes staff arrears of Sh 800 million (gross salary).
The arrears were accrued during the period that the factory was under low production, part of it was in 2017 when they were not in production for eight months.
In 2018, the factory was also not in production for some period and the whole of 2019. Currently, Nyangweso said the staff are earning their full salary as opposed to previous years where they were getting a partial salary.
He noted that at intervals depending on the factory’s production, he said they are able to pay staff arrears. “Last week on Friday, we paid them one of the many arrears. This means as our production improves we will be working towards clearing the arrears. He assured that they will continue to run the factory to its best level until such a time that it will either be leased or privatised.
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