| Updated Tue, June 13th 2017 at 08:41 GMT +3The Government’s knee jerk reaction to lift duty on importation of basic food items including maize, sugar and milk in an election year may have handed cartels billions of shillings on silver platter. With deals on the pipeline to import 450,000 tonnes of yellow maize, private firms will be able to make gross return of Sh3.825 billion before expenses. Kenya produces 600,000 tonnes of sugar annually against a demand of 870,00 tonnes. AFA has licensed 162 companies to import sugar who were only allowed importation of a maximum 2,000 tonnes per importer. A UK firm Holbud, associated with business tycoon Naushad Merali was allowed to import maize worth Sh7.3 billion before the duty-free window ends in July.

Source: Standard Digital June 13, 2017 05:37 UTC