Tea farmers in Kisii and Nyamira counties could be losing millions of shillings from green leaf sales through faulty or rigged scales.
Buyers of green leaf are using the machines to fleece the growers. And after an outcry from farmers, officials from the Tea Board of Kenya made an impromptu tour of the region and confiscated several scales that were found to have been tampered with.
The scales will be investigated to establish if they are faulty or they were deigned to swindle farmers.
At Gianche tea buying centre in Naymira, the officers found a faulty weighing machine that was reading by less than two kilograms and confiscated it for more investigations in Nairobi.
Erick Ndek, who is an officer at the Tea Board of Kenya weights and measures department, said their aim is to ensure that all scales are up to standard and no interference from the clerks or anyone from factories and tea buying centres takes place.
“We have started our visits to all the tea buying centres in the country and in our first tea buying centre, we have found a weighing machine that is not up to the required standards," Ndek said.
"So we have seized for further investigations to establish whether it is the machine that is faulty or it has been interfered with,” Ndek told journalists.
Samuel Njane who is the director for compliance and surveillance at the Tea Board of Kenya, said all the weighing machines at the buying centres will have to be inspected for compliance to the required standards.
Those found faulty will be taken for investigations, for appropriate action to be taken.
