The suspension of the Mumias Sugar Company Chief Executive Nation Aseka has triggered the eruption of more critical questions, rage, fury, anger, uproar and outrage than answers over the surprise move by the Board of Directors of the cash strapped giant.
It also appears to have thrown a deadly spanner into the powerful under currents of the perennially endless and forever broiling sugar industry politics and brought them to the fore at long last.
The most critical question of all the questions being posed by stakeholders is what tangible and concrete evidence or reasons did the company’s board have to take that “drastic” action against the only person qualified to salvage that company from its financial mess?
The second is who and what powerful political and corporate forces actually influenced that action? The third is why when Mr. Aseka is not yet even a year old after taking over the shell of the company as Chief Executive in an effort to turn it around? The fourth is who are the forces interested in taking over the beleaguered company through covertly engineered schemes?
The others are why has the government been stingy in boldly bailing out the company with Kshs. 5 billion it desperately needed as at the beginning of this year? Why has it been merely dilly-dallying and doling out monies piece meal when the salvaging of that entity needed bold and deliberate steps?
Why is it dilly dallying when it clearly knows that the giant Mumias Sugar once back on its feet is capable of paying out its debts in a few years? Of all professionals in the country’s sugar industry who is more capable of turning that company than leading it to liquidation?
Why did the Eco Bank, the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) suddenly recall their loans to the company worth Kshs. 2.6 billion late last year when a foreign lender Proparco-a French investment who are owed a total of Kshs. 9 billion have remained steadfast standing by the company?
Lastly why has the government failed to trace, arrest, take legal action, recover and restore to the company the monies and assets that were looted from it? Why when the Deloitte Touch audit reports clearly pointed out who were the looters that brought the company to its knees? Why are there covert moves to liquidate the company when it can be turned around?
These are just a few of the many questions that may go without answers because of the heavy covert intrigues behind the country’s ever broiling sugar industry politics. As at the end of last year short term liabilities of the company were estimated to be more than Kshs. 15 billion.
However, the suspended CEO is on record stating that despite the crippling debts, the company’s fortunes could be turned around in a matter of a few years if only he could be advanced a package of Kshs. 5 billion loan in closely spaced disbursements since he had already worked out a recovery strategy programme but that money was needed to execute it.
According to a press release dated June 5th, 2018 signed by Mumias Sugar’s board chairman Kennedy Ngumbau following a special board meeting held the same day, the board had decided to suspend Mr. Aseka with immediate effect – meaning beginning that day.
Ngumbau says that it had also decided to elevate Patrick Chebosi the company’s head of agriculture to take over from Mr. Aseka in an acting capacity until further notice. This brings in the queries why was a special board meeting called? Does it mean that its sole agenda was to “immediately” suspend the CEO?
The statement reads in part: “The reason for the suspension was that some doubtful transactions appear to have been entered into without following due process and requisite approvals. The suspension is meant to pave way for further investigations into the matter.”
Ngumbau goes on to state: “In light of the financial challenges the company is facing, the board and key stakeholders are discussions for fresh financial injections to restore the factory operations. This will be for the benefit of shareholders and other stakeholders in the country.”
It is this surprise move that has triggered fury, rage, anger, uproar and outrage among a huge section of the industry stakeholders, leaders from the region, sugarcane farmers and industry professionals who argue that Mr. Aseka a career professional in the industry natured by Mumias Sugar right from the University was the only hope for turning the company around.
“He is the first and perhaps the only professional in the country who is trained in diffuser technology that the company’s factory uses to process sugar and other by-products including a Master in Business Management, he knows the company in and out having been its factory manger for many years. He is the only man who has the ability to restore confidence in sugarcane farmers, but what can an agronomist do?” posed the immediate former Kenya Sugarcane Growers Association (KESGA) chairman Ibrahim Juma.
Mr. Juma says that since Mr. Aseka took over from a one time CEO under Booker Tate Plc management, Errol Johnson a few months ago, the farmers confidence in supplying the company’s factory had already started getting restored because of the prompt payments system Aseka had introduced among many other positively progressive changes.
He said: “If it were not for Aseka who salvaged Chebosi from limbo, he would be nowhere. He cannot fit into Aseka’s boots, but will only be used to execute the interests of his and Ngumbau’s masters to accelerate Mumias Sugar into liquidation so that it can be sold at a throw away price instead of restoring its glory the way the suspended CEO was determined.”
The suspension also drew fire from the Cabinet Secretary for Sports and Heritage Rashid Achesa who accused the company board of being only interested in looting the company extremely limited and waning resources to send it to its death bed – that is why they were fighting the suspended CEO because he was blocking their nefarious greedy intentions.
The Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Achesa was breathing fire today as he took on Mumias sugar company bosses over the state of the struggling sugar miller. Achesa warned of an impending raid by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) at the sugar firm over alleged improprieties.
Achesa has threatened to ensure that the company’s entire board is incarcerated as other political leaders from the region led by Mumias East legislator Benjamin Washiali are demanding for immediate answers over the board’s suspension of the Mumias CEO Mr. Aseka and especially the queries documented above.
It has since emerged that Aseka’s crime was that he tried to engage a foreign strategic investor to plough into the troubled company more money in as one of the efforts to outsource finances to turn around the company’s fortunes – bringing the question why a person meaning well for the company should be vilified? Are there predators and scavengers hovering zero in for the kill once the company is put under liquidation?
Mumias Sugar Farmers have not been left out of the fray and they are pointing fingers to some powerful personalities accusing them of being the power behind the machinations and demanding for Aseka’s immediate re-instatement.
Mr. Gregory Wanga Washikanda, a farmer from Mumias dismissed the reasons given for Aseka’s suspension as mere assertions saying that there were more powerful political and not business forces that were behind the move.
He threatened that unless Mr. Aseka was immediately re-instated to his position, the farmers contracted to supply sugarcane to the company were going to immediately freeze their supplies and block sugarcane supplies from any other source to the troubled company to bring its operations completely to a standstill.
