• Governor told taxation cannot be applied selectively and that such a move will adversely affect small-scale tea farmers.
• County chief warns that his government will repossess multinationals' land and redistribute it to the landless.
Image: BARRY SALIL
A Nandi politician has differed with Governor Stephen Sang over the latter's decision to increase annual rates and rent for tea plantations from Sh100 to Sh5,000.
Kosgey told the governor that taxation cannot be applied selectively and warned that such a move will affect small-scale tea farmers.
“The law is clear on taxation. Small-scale tea farmers live in both freehold and leasehold areas. Should you succeed to increase the taxes, our people will suffer," Kosgey, who is also a lawyer said.
Governor has warned that his government will retake the land from multinationals and redistribute it to the landless.
"The companies have the audacity to use the courts to block the transfer of cess meant for road repairs. This is impunity," he said at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Nandi Hills town on Sunday. He and Kosgey were raising funds for the completion of a church building.
The governor said that no tea estate would get an extension of the 99-year lease since the companies had resorted to mechanisation, rendering thousands of workers jobless.
"Even if Nandi county decides to extend the leases, of what benefit will that be to Kenyans? The firms are engaging in massive sackings; let them pack and go and we decide on what to do."
The governor said he is getting impatient with the multinational tea companies for using the courts to stop the remittance of cess to the county government.
He said the majority of the people in Nandi were squatters and lived in abject poverty on the periphery of tea plantations.
"We want to ensure the government gets its share of the profits and use the money to educate and uplift the standards of living of the communities whose land was grabbed to establish the estates,” Sang said.
Multinationals, under the Kenya Tea Growers Association, are opposed to the National Land Commission's decision that counties should resurvey tea estates.
The NLC wants devolved units to get the acreage of all plantations so that excess land is surrendered to counties for public utilities.
Sang accused the multinationals of falsifying their returns to both the Kenya Revenue Authority and the counties so that they pay fewer taxes.
"We have nothing to show that local communities have benefited. The ones employed work under squalid conditions and frequent threats," Sang said.
The governor said many leaders fear speaking out on the land issue because they had been compromised.
On Saturday, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei asked the governor to address issues within his mandate by ensuring that county funds are used properly.
“Issues of land tenure are complex. The governor should ensure money allocated to Nandi county benefits residents instead of engaging in issues outside his scope," Cherargei said.
Edited by P. Wanambisi