Arise Media 
President William Ruto’s cabinet has approved the write-off of 6.8 billion Kenyan shillings in historical debt in a major relief for the nation’s coffee farmers.
This decision aims to rejuvenate the struggling coffee sector and financially relieve thousands of farmers burdened by longstanding loans.
To facilitate the settlement of the debts accrued by farmers, coffee societies, Saccos, and other creditors are required to submit to the ministry for co-operatives, within seven days, the list of all farmers who owe them money and all the supporting documents for verification and processing of payments.
“Any fraudulent and fictitious claim will be dealt with per the law,” read a statement on the cabinet dispatch document sent to the newsrooms.
The cabinet urged the parliament to fast-track the enactment of governance reforms for cooperatives to establish institutional safeguards, including the requirement that the process of borrowing by cooperatives is only authorized by farmers during annual general meetings.
“To further bolster the coffee production value chain, the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) will undergo modernization per international best practices,” the cabinet statement noted.
The decision comes 10 days after the state wrote off Sh110 billion worth of sugarcane factories’ debt accumulated in the last 40 years.
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