Court reinstates SFR board, renews war over reserve billions
Supremacy wars between Strategic Food Reserve Oversight Board (SFROB) and Ministry of Agriculture over the management of grains are far from over.
Escalated feuds follow the reinstatement of the SFROB by high court recently after being out of office for the last four months when the National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani disbanded the institution.
Immediately after the Yatani’s decision in May this year, some stakeholders sued the government over disbandment of the board.
Noah Wekesa, SFROB chair confirmed on Friday that high court granted a stay on the board gazettement to enable it discharge its duties as outlined in the regulations.
Procure grains
The board, he said has more than Sh10 billion in its coffers which he added will be used to procure grains from the farmers.Wekesa made the remarks during a press conference at his Teleposta office on Friday.
Yatani effectively sent packing the team led by former Cabinet Minister Noah Wekesa after he revoked the Public Finance Management (Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund) regulations, of 2015, which created the SFR Trust Fund.
Dissolution of SFR was first mooted by Agriculture Secretary Peter Munya, shortly after being appointed in the docket, arguing that the decision was informed by the fact that the body has been duplicating roles already being carried out by the National Cereals and Produce Board.
Munya has been fast-tracking new reforms in the food subsector and especially restructuring cereals body to make it a commercial entity.
