A section of MPs drawn from the tea belt constituencies in the west of the Rift Valley are demanding a complete overhaul at the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) over poor bonus payments.
The MPs, mainly drawn from Kericho, Nandi, Nyamira, Bomet, Kisii and Elgeyo Marakwet, have raised concern over how the affairs of small-scale tea farmers from their region are being handled.
The legislators who addressed a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday wondered why farmers from their region, who account for 68 per cent of the tea production, were earning meagre payments compared to their counterparts from other regions.
The MPs faulted the agency for failing to protect farmers, saying the absence of oversight has created room for exploitation and inefficiency.
“We call for a review of KTDA board structures, including term limits, allowance caps, and mandatory performance evaluations, they said in a statement," they said.
The MPs included Brighton Yegon (Konoin), Clive Gisairo (Kitutu Masaba), Bernard Kitur (Nandi Hills), Cynthia Muge (Nandi County Woman Representative), Anthony Kibagendi (Kitutu Chache South), and Richard Kilel (Bomet Central).
Others were Donya Dorice (Kisii County Woman Representative), Patrick Osero (Borabu), Richard Yego (Bomet East), Gideon Kimaiyo (Keiyo South), Francis Sigei (Sotik), Joseph Tonui (Kuresoi South), and Daniel Manduku (Nyaribari Masaba).
The leaders wondered why out of 13 brokerage firms serving Kenya’s tea auction, only one originates from the West Rift, yet this region contributes 68 per cent of the national tea production.
“We demand fair representation in brokerage licensing to ensure equitable participation and regional inclusivity in tea marketing. We also demand immediate disbandment of the tea trade association and a transparent exercise involving the farmers be put in place.”
“We call upon the Tea Board of Kenya to address any imbalance in representation at KTDA holdings, and to come up with regulations that take cognisance of the volume of tea produced and the number of factory units between the East of Rift and the West of Rift.”
They also demand the introduction of blind or scientific tea testing at the auction to eliminate any possible bias and guarantee fairness.
They have also called for an immediate review of representation within KTDA and related agencies to ensure that the West of Rift is fairly represented at all governance levels, including the board of directors, management committees, and regional advisory councils.
“It has also come to our attention that KTDA’s staffing structure is heavily skewed, creating imbalance and marginalisation. It is equally regrettable that the West of Rift region has been systematically denied adequate representation in the decision-making structures of the KTDA and other national tea policy organs,” they claimed.
The MPs asked KTDA directors to declare loans borrowed to pay second payments (bonuses), to ensure that farmers are not burdened with debts they never benefited from or those they were not consulted when taking.
“We demand an immediate separation of accounts for all tea factories in the West of Rift. Each factory must be allowed to operate independently and transparently, with individual audited statements of accounts accessible to farmers.”
They also raised concerns over the rising costs of production and management, including inflated firewood procurement and staff expenses.
Furthermore, the MPs also alleged that weighing scales were being manipulated by some field clerks, worsening the problem.
They want all factory managers who have served for more than three years in a specific tea factory to be transferred to curb any entrenched graft networks and those found culpable sacked.
“It is alleged that some clerks and ghost farmers have so many kilogrammes of tea without corresponding known tea garden acreage. Therefore, a thorough investigation of the recruitment process and their lifestyle audit must be carried out both for factory top management and clerks to address the falsification of the weighing scale scandal."
