Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Committee of the National Assembly has directed the management of the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (K.P.C.U) to review how it is modernising warehouses.
The committee chaired by James Gakuya (Embakasi North) in a report to the House expressed concerns that the current mode where the agency is refurbishing multiple storage facilities is not cost-effective and may not achieve the intended results.
“We recommend that once New KPCU receives a budgetary allocation for modernisation of its warehouses, it should prioritise the completion of one warehouse at a time,” reads the report tabled at the floor of the House by Committee Vice Chairperson Hon Marianne Kitany (Aldai).
“This approach is proposed in view of the fact that the agency attempted to modernise multiple warehouses simultaneously, resulting in slow progress towards completion. By prioritising one warehouse at a time, the agency can streamline the process and achieve more efficient results."
Members of the committee in the report recommended that the National Assembly should consider and approve the allocation of Sh15 billion in the current financial year, for the optimal operation of the Coffee Cherry Fund.
They observed that the amount will adequately cater for the upscaling of payment to the coffee farmers across the country.
The committee noted that the current allocation of Sh4 billion in the 2023-24 financial year is insufficient.
In March, members of the House team conducted an inspection visit of the New K.P.C.U headquarters in Nairobi, where they also engaged the management of the agency led by CEO Timothy Mirugi.
The lawmakers also undertook inspection tours of the union godowns in Dandora in Nairobi County, Sagana in Kirinyaga County and Meru town in Meru County where they apprised themselves on the agency’s operations.
