Leaders seek produce classified as food to enjoy favourable tax
Leaders from sugarcane-growing counties have recommended policy changes to identify sugar as food to facilitate a tax review on farm inputs and factory machinery. This, they said at the weekend, will give local sugar a competitive edge in the regional market.
The leaders and farmers faulted the decision to categorise sugar as a commodity, blaming that classification for the heavy taxation resulting in under production and reduced profitability.
Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o read the resolutions at the end of the two-day summit held in Kakamega’s Masinde Muliro University (Must) last Saturday.
The summit themed: Revitalising the Sugar Sector in Kenya centred discussions on the sugar policy, milling and pricing, debt management and sustainable farming model and sugar sector governance, ownership, legal and regulatory framework.
The meeting resolved that government reviews the duty on fertilizer, seed cane and factory machinery to cut down the cost of sugar production.
County governments also asked the national government to relinquish its stake in State-owned sugar firms after writing off the liabilities to them and farmers’ outgrowers companies.
“County governments need to be involved in management and development of the sugar sector. This is possible if national government exits and in its place, we assume 20 percent of the stake while farmers take 80 percent “ Nyong’o observed.
The meeting also resolved to re-establish an industry regulator and reintroduce the abolished Sugar Development Levy (SDL) as well as farmer outgrower companies.
SDL, the meeting said would fund cane development and research activities. The summit similarly recommended reintroduction of the sugar zones within the established sugar catchment areas to tame cane poaching menace by rogue millers.
Wide berth
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula opened the colloquium last Friday, but invited national government officials gave the meeting a wide berth.
Among those absent at the event were Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who was to close the summit, Finance Cabinet Secretary Prof Njuguna Ndung’u and Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi.
Only five governors out of 14-member county Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) including the host Fernandez Barasa, Nyong’o, Kenneth Lusaka (Bungoma), Dr Paul Otuoma (Busia) and Ochilo Ayacko (Migori) attended.
Less than 15 MPs out of the 100 invited led by Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe, who’s the sponsor of the Sugar Bill that comes up for a 3rd reading before the House on Thursday turned up for the conference.
