Kenya's Sugar Story Sours In Bitter Row Over Imports

In what has become a circus between the ministry of finance and that of agriculture, the battle over the importation of 200,000 metric tones of sugar is headed for the regional courts.

Already, 10,000 tons of sugar is at the Mombasa port and has been lying there for the past two weeks awaiting clearance while another 20,000 tones is in the high seas and is expected to arrive and get cleared on time for the March 1 deadline when the finance ministry's legal notice barring duty-free sugar from entering Kenya expires.

As from Thursday this week, merchants will be racing for the importation of 89,000 tones of table sugar and 111,000 tones of industrial sugar as duty free sugar will be allowed into the country.

Obstinate finance minister Amos Kimunya has refused to budge and insists that any sugar brought in before March 1, 2007 will attract 100% customs duty insisting there was no crisis in the country as the commodity is readily available in shops and supermarkets not to mention the seven millers in the country.

It is evident that somebody somewhere is lying with the intention of making a 'quick buck' over sugar importation and this will be nothing new in a country where sugar importers made millions in profits during the Moi era. A lot of he money went into financing Kanu politics and the general elections.

During the Kanu days, well connected importers would import large quantities of the commodity and evade paying tax on it prior to dumping it in the local market and making obscene profits which they would then share with crooked government officials who assisted them.

This was a common practice before the general elections and Kanu is known to have financed its campaigns through sugar proceeds and it seems the Narc government is learning fast as they also need lots of cash for Kibaki's re-election campaign in December.

And again, the current agriculture minister, Kipruto arap Kirwa is known to be notoriously corrupt and has been under investigation by the Kenya anti corruption commission but nothing concrete has come up though he is said to have become a multi millionaire over a very short period of time.