Mwea Rice Mills Limited Releases Information

The Mwea Rice Mills Limited has released information following an order by the Commission that the company facilitates access to information and records on several issues relating to Mwea Rice Mills and that the company redact the personal information of members contained in the register of members.

A law firm, Otieno and Ogola, and Company Advocates made an appeal for review to the Commission on behalf of Canon Dr. Wachira Njiri, 16 others, and the Shareholders Forum of Mwea Rice Millers Limited following the refusal of the company to respond to their request for information dated 12^th February, 2024. The information sought included;

1. A list of all individual members/farmers paid dividends since 2007 to date;
2. A list of all members of the Company;
3. Annual audit reports of the Company since 2007 to date;
4. Annual returns of the Company lodged at the Registrar of Societies since 2017 to date;
5. Certified copy of the Memorandum and Articles of the Company;
6. List of all directors of the Company since 2007 to date indicating how the directors were selected/appointed into office; and
7. The latest Form CR 12 of the Company.

The company did not respond to the request within the statutory timelines prompting the law firm to seek the intervention of the Commission on behalf of its clients on 8^th March, 2024. The Commission took up the matter with the Chief Executive Officer, Mwea Rice Mills Limited, on 19^th March 2024 and requested the company to respond to the request within seven days.

“The Commission notes that the statutory timeliness to process the request for information under section 9(1) of the ATI Act has since elapsed. Therefore, the Commission requests your institutional report under section 22 (3) of the ATI Act within seven days to allow for appropriate decision,” read the letter from the Commission.

The letter from the Commission did not elicit any response from the company leading to the issuance of an order on 7^th June, 2024, to the company with a copy to the Chief Executive Officer, National Irrigation Authority.

 “Pursuant to powers granted by sections 22(3)(a)(i) and 23(2)(a) of the Access to Information Act, 2016, the Commission determines that the information requested by the Applicants is public information/records held by the respondent and thus hereby orders that the Chief Executive Officer, Mwea Rice Mills Limited, facilitates access to information and records held relating to the request for information made by Canon Dr. Wachira Njiri, 16 others and Shareholders Forum of Mwea Rice Millers Limited through the letter dated 12^th February, 2024. In disclosing information contained in numbers (i) and (ii) of the request dated 12th February 2024, the Chief Executive Officer, Mwea Rice Mills Limited, shall redact the personal information of members contained in the register of members. The compliance with the order is to be within seven days,” read the order of the Commission.

Following the issuance of the order, the National Irrigation Authority which has a 55% shareholding of Mwea Rice Mills Limited complied with the order and on 8^th July, 2024, released the requested information to the Commission for onward transmission to the law firm.

“The Commission acknowledges receipt of your letter dated 8^th July, 2024, whose contents we have noted. By a copy of this letter, the information/ documents are hereby forwarded to the applicant,” read a letter from the Commission to the CEO, National Irrigation Authority.

Mwea Rice Mills Ltd is a subsidiary of the National Irrigation Authority. The rice mill is a limited liability company jointly owned by the Authority (55%) and Mwea rice farmers through Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Co-operative Society Limited which has 45% shareholding.