Western Regional Commissioner (RC), Irungu Macharia, has urged sugar millers in western Kenya, to self-regulate, to resolve the stand-off surrounding the poaching of cane.

Speaking during a meeting with the millers, a section of farmers, and the security team from the Western Region, the RC said the lack of enough cane has forced some millers to poach and even sometimes harvest immature cane.

He urged the millers to invest in cane development that could sustain their factories, warning that poaching would not be allowed.

Macharia asked them to operate within their catchment areas, adhere to Ton of Cane Per Day (TCD) per factory, pay farmers on time, take care of farmers’ welfare, and adhere to standard cane supply contracts.

‘As we review the contracts, sugar millers are supposed to submit to the Sugar Directorate, a register of registered, contracted sugarcane farmers and you have up to February 1st ,to share the inventory of farmers,’ he added.

During the meeting, millers raised concerns about other m
illers poaching the cane they had invested in, making them lose millions of monies in investment.

The RC said the security team, will be on standby to enforce the regulations, to bring sanity in the sugar sector and asked all millers, to partner with the National Government Administration Officers(NGAO), to sensitize farmers against poaching, in order to improve sugarcane industry.

He also ordered the immediate closure of weighbridges and cane-buying centers outside a miller’s region and issued a ban on the transportation of cane at night, as it posed a danger to other road users.

A farmer, David Opala, from Kakamega County, said that cases of poaching increase when millers fail to support the farmers and take care of them when they have urgent needs, forcing a farmer to opt to supply the produce to other factories.

Another farmer from Busia, Shaban Wandera, asked the millers to ensure they participate in maintaining road infrastructure in the areas where they transport cane from.

Millers that attended t
he meeting included Mumias Sugar Company, Olepito and Busia Sugar Company, both from the Lower Region and West Kenya, Butali, Naitiri and Nzoia companies from the Upper Region.

They agreed to operate within their areas through the Memorandum of Understanding for each catchment area and adhere to each miller allocated Ton of Cane Per Day(TCD).

Western Regional Police Commander, Kiprono Langa’t, issued a warning to those transporting cane at night to stop, saying they are posing a danger to road users.

He said the transporters are supposed to put reflectors on their trucks, to enhance visibility to other motorists.

Source: Kenya News Agency

KORHOGO: Former Brave Warriors captain, Ronald Ketjijere, says Namibians should take pride in the team’s accomplishments at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON), after the team recorded a 1-0 victory over Tunisia on Tuesday evening.

Ketjijere, in an interview with Nampa on Wednesday, said that the senior men’s national team went through a challenging qualifier process, with all their matches played away from home.

The Brave Warriors began their 2023 AFCON championship with a 1-0 victory against Tunisia, and they are in Group E with South Africa and Mali and based in the northern town of Korhogo in Ivory Coast.

In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, Ketjijere said that, as a player, he could not return to the team to feature at the 2023 AFCON Finals despite being called up, due to injury.

‘I am happy with what the team has achieved. The team did well by qualifying, especially since they played all their matches away from home. I am confident that the experience in the team, consists of 70 per cent of
players who competed at the 2019 AFCON, so this will help them in this tournament,’ he said.

Ketjijere commended the technical team for assembling a team that played most of its matches away from home and still qualified.

‘The current pressure on the team is to try and do better, as this is the fourth time Namibia is qualifying for AFCON, and they needed to break the curse of not winning a match at the competition. As a Namibian, I call on everyone to support these great players who have always done their best against all odds,’ Ketjijere said.

The former captain also called on the players to go out there with confidence and continue delivering the hard work they have been doing.

‘Our team’s pressing game puts opponents under pressure, and since everyone is playing away from home, each team stands a chance of making it at this competition,’ he said.

Ketjijere, who is in Ivory Coast on a CAF ticket to promote Namibian and African football, stated that he would have loved to form part of the team, but his
exclusion due to injury offered an opportunity for another player.

‘The current talent in the team is the future of Namibian football, and they deserve all the support and encouragement for the future of our game,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency