- Dr Kones said that he gave himself a break so that he could comfortably lead the tea reforms in the South Rift region.
- He said that he is now ready to serve the people of Bomet as the county boss in the next general elections.
Image: KIPLANGAT KIRUI
Former Konoin MP Dr Julius Kones has revealed that he did not contest for the Bomet gubernatorial seat in the last polls because he wanted to help the tea farmers.
Dr Kones said that he gave himself a break so that he could comfortably lead the tea reforms in South Rift region.
Speaking to the Star on phone, Kones said that he is now ready to serve the people of Bomet as the county boss in the next general elections.
Kones was appointed to provide technical support to the government on tea reforms, a position which he still holds up to now.
He said that time was the best to serve Kenyans, especially the plight the tea farmers were undergoing.
"When given a position serve the people to your best and that is exactly what I did because I did not want to mix politics and any the push for major policy tea reforms while at the same time did not want to leave the tea reforms agitation for politics before accomplishing it."
Kones added:
"Remember this is something I have been pushing for since 2008 when I joined parliament, by then many people including the government of the day were hesitant of any move to challenge the status quo. When a conducive environment presented itself to accomplish what has been my dream, I had to grab it and the fruits are not out."
He said he decided to concentrate on tea reforms because it was among the main source of income for the people of Bomet, Kericho, Nakuru and Nandi counties.
The former legislator said the reforms they advocated for have now borne fruits as it has increased earnings for the farmers.
He thanked the tea farmers for heeding their calls on reforms which is now evidenced in this year's tea bonuses.
"In the entire agriculture sector, tea is the one that reforms have fairly succeeded and all the cartels that have been exploiting farmers have been wiped out. More benefits to the farmers shall be realised once the Tea Act is fully implementation after the withdrawal of court cases," he said.
The former National Water Conservation and Pipeline chairman used the opportunity to also laud the Kenya Kwanza government on the ongoing reforms spearheaded by Deputy President Rigathi to further streamline the tea and coffee sectors.
When asked if he would contest for the governor seat, Kones confirmed that he would be on the ballot.
"It is now my time having supported the founding governor Isaac Rutto, then the late Joyce Laboso and the current one Hillary Barchok. If I had been power power-hungry person, I would have contested for the seat but I wanted unity of all the leaders and the people," he remarked.
Kones said having served in different capacities in the government gives him an upper in the management of the county.
"Bomet County should bank on me because I can manage the resources of the county given the experience I gained while serving in different positions,” said Kones.
He added that a governor should be a development-conscious leader who should work for the people while ensuring their access to better services.
“The true measure of leadership is how we cause people to believe in themselves and inspire them to have a reason and motivation to want to work hard to better their lives,” he said.
During his tenure as Konoin MP between 2007 and 2012, Kones introduced a Bill in Parliament that was aimed at liberalising the tea sector and ending KTDA's monopoly.