President Uhuru Kenyatta has transferred the responsibilities of the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) to the Ministry of Defence.
KMC was previously under the Ministry of Agriculture headed by Peter Munya, who has asked the Ministry of Defence to facilitate seamless transfer of the Commission to the Ministry of Defence.
Munya has directed the Principal Secretary at the State Department for Livestock to submit a report to him in 14 days on the progress made.
“Ensure that you coordinate the entire exercise with the National Treasury and transfer the associated budgets at the next scheduled supplementary budgets,” Munya said in an internal memo dated September 7.
Read: Government Set To Sell Kenya Meat Commission To Private Investors
The Commission has been operating below par as it grapples with financial issues, only slaughtering an estimated 200 cows per week.
In its last financial update, KMC indicated that it sold products worth Ksh127.5 million in the nine months ended March 2019.
At that time, it had debts worth Ksh1.1 billion, which include livestock farmers’ dues of Ksh254.4 million Ksh300 million owed to the government.
Since its establishment in 1960, the commission has been facing challenges including political interference, substandard machinery, and loss of the European Union market due to animal diseases.
It is estimated that KMC has fixed operating costs of Ksh20 million per month including Ksh10 million for salaries and Ksh4 million for electricity.
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