BUSIA, Kenya, Jan 23 – President William Ruto now says the Mumias sugar bonuses issued this week are due to streamlined operations.
He made remarks during an Inspection of the Busia County Aggregation and Industrial Park where he denied Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s claims that the bonuses were paid from the exchequer.
“We recently paid bonuses for the first time since Kenya was built to sugarcane farmers, I am now wondering why some leaders are questioning the government for helping mumias company and even give sugarcane farmers bonuses,” he stated.
He said that the money for the bonuses was obtained from the company after the management was streamlined.
“I hear people asking where the president is getting money to pay sugarcane farmers bonuses, where do you think the money to pay tea farmers their bonuses is coming from? And the coffee farmers’ bonuses where do you think the money is coming from? The place where we get money for the tea and coffee farmers’ bonuses is the same place where the sugarcane farmers’ bonuses come from,” he stated.
He described it as a right for the farmers whom he stated had worked hard for it.
“Are sugarcane farmers not Kenyan? Coffee farmers get bonuses, tea farmers get bonuses but when a sugarcane farmer gets a bonus questions get asked?”
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka had questioned the source of the bonuses for farmers claiming that it came from Treasury.
He further claimed that the head of state was craftig his re-election campaign strategy under the guise of election tours.
