By PATRICK MAYOYO pmayoyo@ke.nationmedia.com ( email the author)
Posted Sunday, February 3 2013 at 22:43
Posted Sunday, February 3 2013 at 22:43
In Summary
- KRA and industry regulator keeping an eye on imports from Uganda and Tanzania
A number of companies have been placed on a watch list following massive dumping of duty-free sugar from Uganda and Tanzania in what is suspected to be fund-raising for campaigns.
Statistics from the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) have revealed that Uganda exported 30,299 tonnes of sugar to Kenya between January and November last year, a big increase from the 73 tonnes reported during a similar period in 2011.
KSB chief executive Rosemary M’kok said all sugar imports from Uganda and Tanzania were only being released after due diligence following fears that trans-shipment imports were finding their way into the local market.
“A few companies are under our radar and we keep checking their imports with other agencies like KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority),” she said.
Head of investigations at KRA Joseph Nduati said concerns had been raised over sugar imports originating from Tanzania and Uganda given that the two countries are not self-sufficient in sugar production.
“There are fears that most of the sugar entering into the country duty-free is not from the Comesa region, an issue we are looking into,” said Mr Nduati.
He said initial investigations indicated that some of the imports said to be from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) originated from outside the trade bloc.
Late last year, KSB blocked several Ugandan and Tanzanian companies from bringing sugar into Kenya.
The board, however, withdrew the ban before Christmas following the creation of a joint secretariat that roped in authorities in Uganda and Tanzania to jointly carry out the investigations.
There have been allegations that traders have, in turn, been passing off this sugar as produced in Uganda and have been re-exporting it to Kenya duty-free.
The latest developments have raised fears that politically-correct businessmen and politicians have taken advantage of the existing legal loophole to raise money to finance the ongoing campaigns ahead of the March 4 General Election.
The matter has been complicated by failure by MPs to pass the Election Campaign Financing Bill, which could have regulated spending by political parties.
According to the executive director of the anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International-Kenya, it was evident that money still played a very key role in the nominations.
“In some cases, it may have subverted the democratic wishes of the voters. There were still allegations that some candidates were offered money to relinquish their bids, which is inconsistent with the tenets of democracy,” he said.
Mr Kimeu said failure by MPs to pass the Bill was selfish and against the public interest, adding that it gives advantage to wealthy aspirants.
“Without closing the floodgates, MPs exposed our democratic exercise to the interference and manipulation that big money brings along,” he said.
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