Stormy polls loom at KTDA as farmers demand change

The stage is set for stormy Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) elections as farmers push for change with some claiming the body no longer represents their interests.

Top on the list of contentious issues is the share-based voting system which small-scale farmers say has given large-scale farmers control over the management of factories, effectively cutting them out.

The farmers say the same individuals have dominated leadership for many years. They should be investigated over financial misconduct, they say.

INVESTIGATION

The storm has been gradually brewing with farmers in counties such as Tharaka-Nithi and Nyeri threatening to boycott them.

The agency is under fire from farmers for failing to address their plight, especially on low pay.

Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina called on the government to stop the forthcoming elections and instead send detectives to investigate misuse of resources. The polls are due October 25.

Mr Maina said the system in place is tailored to see those running down the agency re-elected.

“We call upon President Uhuru Kenyatta and his government to ensure that action is taken. Investigators should swing into action swiftly, probe and make some arrests,” he said in Kieni.

AUDIT

Mr Maina spoke as the Kenya Union of Small-Scale Tea Owners (Kussto) defended Cabinet secretaries Peter Munya (Trade and Cooperatives) and Mwangi Kiunjuri (Agriculture) over accusations that they are to blame for the woes bedevilling the tea sector.

Kussto branch officials - led by Meru branch chairman Mugambi Nkanata, Embu County secretary Murithi Njeru and Tharaka-Nithi County secretary Justus Njagi - said MPs are to blame for failure to enact laws that protect farmers from exploitation by brokers.

Mr Nkanata said legislators should recommend regular auditing of KTDA and revert its operations from a limited company to the national government.

The KTDA has been on the spot after paying farmers Sh46.45 billion as bonus this year compared to Sh62.35 billion last year.

CORRUPTION

Mr Maina said that the collapse of the coffee sector crippled Mt Kenya region farmers. “The sector is no more. And if the tea sector fails, what happens next? Will that not greatly affect this region’s economy? " he asked.

“They claim that they are using farmers’ money for administrative costs when we know well that a company should not spend more than five per cent of its earnings to cater for management costs,” he said.

The senator said the tea sector is collapsing due to rampant corruption among KTDA officials. “Tea farmers’ complaints have not started today, farmers in tea growing areas in the entire country have been complaining. The point is that the government is in deep slumber and needs to wake up,” he said.

Mr Maina said that KTDA officials found to be contributing to the poor performance of the sector should be arrested and charged.

Mr Njeru challenged governors from tea growing counties, including Kiraitu Murungi (Meru), Muthomi Njuki (Tharaka-Nithi) and Martin Wambora (Embu)to agitate for farmers’ rights just like their Murang’a counterpart, Mr Mwangi wa Iria.