Members of Parliament have urged the New Kenya Co-operatives Creameries (KCC) to halt milk supplies to government agencies that have not settled their debts. On Thursday, New KCC Managing Director Samuel Ichura and Cooperatives Principal Secretary Patrick Kilemi appeared before the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives Committee to address concerns over delayed payments to dairy and coffee farmers.
Committee Chairperson and Embakasi North MP James Gakuya revealed that the milk processor is owed Ksh.184.3 million by various government agencies. Among the debtors, State House owes Ksh.14.62 million, while the Office of the First Lady has an outstanding balance of Ksh.3.07 million for milk supplies.
The Ministry of Defence and the Administration Police Service are the largest debtors, with unpaid amounts of Ksh.49.49 million and Ksh.32.38 million, respectively. Other significant debts include Kenyatta National Hospital, which owes Ksh.10.53 million, with an additional Ksh.4.45 million owed by its private wing. The National Security Intelligence Service has accrued a Ksh.4 million debt, and the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company owes Ksh.2.27 million.
MP Gakuya criticized the milk processor for continuing to supply milk to government agencies despite the mounting debts. "New KCC is in business, and no one compels you to keep supplying milk to government agencies that still owe you money. You cannot tell farmers that you can't pay them because government bodies owe you," he stated.
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In response, PS Kilemi acknowledged that New KCC is struggling to meet its obligations due to the substantial debts owed by these agencies. "New KCC is failing to meet its obligations because of supporting government agencies. We need the help of this committee for the outstanding debt to be paid," Kilemi said.
Despite the challenges, PS Kilemi assured the committee that the situation is improving and committed to ensuring that the remaining payments are made by the end of the month.
