Members of Parliament have urged the New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (New KCC) to cease milk supplies to government agencies, including State House, over an unpaid debt of Ksh 183 million.

The directive was issued on Thursday during a session with the National Assembly’s Trade Committee, where it was revealed that several government entities, including President William Ruto’s office, had failed to settle outstanding payments, causing financial strain on the cooperative.

Principal Secretary, State Department for Cooperatives in the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development, Patrick Kilemi, while appearing before the committee, disclosed that the unpaid debts had significantly hindered New KCC’s operations. The PS stressed that the cooperative is struggling to meet its financial obligations, particularly payments to dairy farmers, due to the government’s failure to clear the debts.

“The delays by various government agencies in settling these debts have led to delays in paying our dairy and coffee farmers, who rely on us for their livelihood,” PS Kilemi explained.

The committee, chaired by Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, expressed concern over the issue, emphasizing that New KCC is a business entity that should not have its operations disrupted by non-paying government agencies.

“New KCC is in business, and no one compels you to keep supplying milk to government agencies that still owe you money,” said MP Gakuya. “You cannot tell farmers that you can’t pay them because government bodies owe you.”

The Ministry of Defence and the Administration Police Service were identified as the largest debtors, owing Ksh 49.49 million and Ksh 32.38 million, respectively. Other significant debts included Ksh 14.62 million owed by State House, Ksh 10.53 million by Kenyatta National Hospital, and Ksh 6.79 million by the presidency.

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PS Kilemi appealed to the committee for assistance in ensuring that the outstanding debts are settled promptly, warning that failure to do so could further jeopardize the livelihoods of farmers across the country.