The Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration, and Agriculture (PIC-SSA) has engaged officials from the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya (PPCK) regarding audit discrepancies, outstanding statutory payments, and financial management issues highlighted in reports from 2013 to 2025.
During the session, the Committee addressed various financial and operational challenges facing the state corporation, including inherited liabilities, aging infrastructure, and unresolved land disputes. Lawmakers scrutinized the company’s management of taxpayer funds and sought clarification on missing documentation related to past financial transactions.
One significant concern was the corporation’s failure to remit Pay As You Earn (PAYE) deductions, despite collecting these funds from employee salaries. Committee members criticized the use of statutory deductions to cover operational costs.
Martin Owino (Ndhiwa) challenged management’s reasoning regarding financial difficulties, asserting, “You cannot claim it’s due to a lack of resources. This money does not belong to you. It’s a catch-22 where you take from one to pay another, which is not legally acceptable.”
The Committee also reviewed a reported Ksh1.3 billion loss in pyrethrum content, amortized over a 30-year period since 2007. The acting factory manager linked these losses to aging extraction plants from the 1950s, stating they contributed to the deterioration of stored products.
Lawmakers requested justification for the lengthy write-off period and sought additional documentation to support management’s accounting decisions.
Committee Chair Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo) questioned a Ksh100 million transaction involving the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) and the New Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (New KPCU), raising concerns about the legal grounds for the fund transfers between these agencies.
The Committee also discussed challenges related to PPCK’s 864-acre land holdings, including encroachment and ongoing litigation. Wangwe criticized management for delays in securing and fencing the property.
“The land is at risk again. If you do not act decisively in the next three years, none of you may remain in your positions. This is serious,” he remarked.
PPCK management must provide all missing documentation and a detailed report on the company’s assets and liabilities by early June. The Committee will assess the submitted records to determine if further legal action or additional recommendations are necessary.
