West Kenya Sugar Company Limited the producer of KABRAS SUGAR is at loggerheads with stakeholders from Western and Nyanza regions following its opaque operations.
The Company through its Chairman Mr Jaswant Rai and Managing Director Mr Tajveer Rai has been accused by the locals of discrimination and exploitation.
Cane farmers from the Western Region have accused the sugar miller for exploiting them dearly such that, the company pays farmers differently depending on the location of their farms.
Sugarcane farmers from areas where competition is deemed to be high are paid better than their counterparts in areas where the company enjoys monopoly.
According to Mzee Daniel Wanakacha from Lurambi, the company has been paying them Ksh4900 per tonne and other farmers are paid Ksh5250 per tonne.
“This is pure discrimination which we don’t want,” said Mzee Wanakacha.
The company which has been enjoying monopoly in cane production for close to a decade is also accused of importing sugar from Brazil which is later repackaged into Kabras branded sacks and materials.
One of the employees who talked to this writer on condition of anonymity said that, the company imports several tonnes of sugar from Brazil which is later repackaged at the company premises and later sold in Kenyan markets.
“On several occasions, the imported sugar is not fit for consumption but how it ends in the local markets is a mystery that only Jaswant Rai can explain,” he said.
Jaswant Rai, the chairman of West Kenya Sugar Company has also been accused of being so selfish to an extend that he refused to sell molasses to local ethanol distilleries (companies) but prefers selling it to Uganda for the fear of competition.
“The company is doing its business in Kenyan land and we expected the locals and local companies in need of its by-products to benefit from it but it is the opposite when it comes to West Kenya Sugar. You can never get anything from West Kenya unless you are going to use it in Uganda or Tanzania,” he said.
Fearing competition, the Rai family bought Panpaper factory in Webuye about 10 years ago and to date, nothing has taken place in Webuye. His intention was just to finish the once giant paper mill in Western so that his Raiply can flourish and indeed Raiply is thriving.
Employees at the Sugar mills are also said to be frustrated a lot as they are paid peanuts and salary delay at the company is something very normal.
“Our bosses are very rude, arrogant and they don’t mean well for the welfare of the workers. We work long hours and you can’t even complain of mistreatment,” he said.
According to locals, Western leaders are to blame as they have left Rai to kill Mumias Sugar company, Nzoia Sugar and Panpaper companies to die and at the same time giving a lot of mileage to Rai and his companies to thrive.
When a company is established in an area, we expect several improvements to come up including infrastructures’ upgrade among others. But West Kenya is not fixing roads in the Western counties despite its trucks damaging several roads.
Stakeholders now want operating licence that was issued to Rai and his subsidiary companies be revoked until their issues highlighted are addressed. At the same time, local leaders have been urged to protect the pioneer companies of Mumias Sugar and Nzoia from the cunning Jaswant Rai and his companies.
