Written By Gerald Gekara | |
Gabriel Nyangweso, the managing director of Chemelil Sugar Company, has been placed on leave to allow for investigations into claims of graft.
He alongside Emmanuel Ngala, the finance manager, were implicated by employees of the ailing company, for presiding over several incidences of financial wrongdoing and accruing salary arrears of nearly to Sh1 billion since 2017.
After preliminary inspections by Agriculture chief administrative secretary Anne Nyaga, interim Sugar Directorate head Willis Audi, and two directors from the Agriculture and Food Authority, the decision to remove them from office was made.
Despite increased performance, the Kenya Union of Sugarcane Plantation and Allied Workers (Kuspaw) general secretary Francis Wangara claims that management has refused to return full salaries.
“As a result, the company has accumulated 42 months’ salary arrears owed to employees totaling Sh875 million,” he stated.
According to Mr Wangara, the company milled a total of 412,000 tonnes of cane from outgrowers and nucleus estate farms in the financial year 2020/2021, based on an increase in production.
Despite many meetings with Kuspaw, the management has failed to keep their promises, according to Kuspaw’s appeal to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya.
