New pryrethrum agency boss Mary Ontiri stirs hope in farmers

Is Mary Moraa Ontiri the last hope for the ailing pyrethrum sub-sector?

This is the million-dollar question that thousands of farmers in 19 pyrethrum growing counties are asking themselves as she settles in as the acting managing director of the troubled Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya (PPCK).

The Nakuru-based company was the pride of Kenya up to the late 1990s as it earned the country over Sh10 billion annually in foreign exchange.

The latest audit report by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu for the year ending June 30, 2019, shows that the pioneer pyrethrum processing firm is technically insolvent and requires a government bailout. The report shows that PPCK recorded a negative working capital of Sh481 million.

“The company is technically insolvent and its continued existence is dependent upon the financial support of the government and its creditors,” says Ms Gathungu.

The firm’s current assets stand at Sh376 million against total current liabilities of Sh857 million.

Farmers are anxiously waiting to see whether the appointment of Ms Ontiri is what will ultimately cure the ailing sub-sector.

The farmers have been through a dozen acting MDs after Job Gakere Wainaina, who is the longest-serving at nearly 30 years.

Daunting task

They include Joshua Kiptoon, Martin Owiti, James Wangai, Dr Isaac Mulagoli, Alfred Taabu Busolo, Paul Lolwerikoi, Joseph Waweru, Gem Argwings Kodhek and Pauline Sego.

Most of the past MDs who have failed to breathe life into the critical sub-sector have all been seconded from the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA).

But Ms Ontiri is an insider who worked for the defunct Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK) for 29 years before it was converted to PPCK.

She takes on the daunting task of reviving one of the most neglected and underfunded state agencies.Ms Ontiri who started her new role on June 9, faces a double edged sword – Sh2 billion pending arrears for pensioners who have been waiting for their dues for more than a decade, and a reducing and demoralised farmers who no longer deliver raw material to the company.

At least 50 pensioners have so far died before being paid their dues and the matter has been complicated by the coronavirus pandemic. Interestingly, Ms Ontiri is an interested party in the pension issue as she is among employees to gain if the government clears the debt.

Unlike her predecessors, who had backgrounds in law, finance, business and administration, Ms Ontiri knows the industry like the back of her hand. She was a production manager before she joined AFA as the acting director of the miraa, pyrethrum and other industrial crops directorate.

The 52-year-old who holds a masters degree in plant breeding, brings critical knowledge to the industry as one of the challenges facing the sub-sector is the lack of clean planting materials.

“I need financial support from the national government to regain the lost glory of the sub-sector and give new hope to our farmers in the 19 counties across the country who are eager to troop back to their farms.

“We need to take advantage of the international market which still prefers the pyrethrum from Kenya by stepping up research and producing quality planting materials,” she said.

Corruption

Many farmers and stakeholders interviewed told the Sunday Nation that Ms Ontiri could bring “new momentum” and had a “window of opportunity to correct the mismanagement and corruption” that has bedevilled the state corporation for more than a decade if she is given financial support by the national government.

Ms Ontiri’s legacy will be viewed positively if she ensures farmers have adequate planting materials and are paid their dues promptly.

“She must take bold decisions that will see the farmers earn good money,” said Mr John Rugut, a farmer in Kuresoi South.

“Pyrethrum is a very crucial driver in the government’s Big Four Agenda as it is key to the manufacturing sector,” said Mr Justus Monda Mochache, the national chairperson of the Pyrethrum Growers Association (PGA).

“The pyrethrum sector has been neglected for a long time and as PGA, it is our sincere hope that the appointment of Ms Ontiri might be the hope that we have been waiting for to realise the full take-off of the delayed revival process,” he said.

Disillusioned farmersMr Monda added: “It’s going to be very difficult to navigate the expectations of disillusioned farmers, staff, pensioners and other key stakeholders.

Ms Ontiri has her work cut out, and it's going to be hard. There is a lot for her to do.

”The pensioners, led by spokesperson Harun Tinga, said Ms Ontiri’s appointment was a chance for the “revitalisation” of the ailing sub-sector.

"She is very courageous. She will be under pressure and we hope she will proceed with speed as an insider who knows the industry and generate income by initiating the disposal of idle assets like land without fear or favour to pay pensioners their outstanding dues,” Mr Tinga said.

“As frustrated farmers, we want to see her translate that braveness into more money in our pockets and ensure we have adequate planting materials. That is how we want to remember her tenure as the managing director of PPCK. We want to remember her as someone who started to move PPCK in a productive direction,” he added.

Ms Ontiri could benefit from a new change of heart by the government as it has injected Sh200 million for planting materials ahead of the planting season.

The firm has an asset value of more than Sh4 billion and owns huge chunks of valuable land.

Some of the lands are lying idle while others like the upmarket Milimani estate in Nakuru town have been undervalued and leased to tenants below market price.

The latest Auditor-General's report indicates that by 2021 the actual value of PPCK is estimated to be more than Sh8 billion.

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