The Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) has appointed IEBC to manage the elections, as the contestants get ready for the factory elections. The regulatory body, chairman Kamau Kahiu and IEBC CEO Marjan Hussein signed a memorandum of understanding to conduct the elections for the directors of the 54 KTDA managed tea factories.
The directors say in the polls memorandums and articles of association of the specific factories should be followed in the management of the election to enhance fairness.
Yesterday, KTDA holding chairman Enos Njeru and Nahason Ngari, a director at Mununga tea factory said the directors are ready for the election with questions of how the election will be facilitated, since the factories have not aligned the budget. Mr Njeru said the elections are estimated to cost farmers Sh350 million which has not been factored in the budget.
“The election, if imposed by June 30, will entirely interfere with the tea calendar as many wanted the election to be held in September to save engaging the growers in several meetings”, said Njeru.
Ngari said the directors are proud that in three years they have brought sanity in the tea sector where they have led to better price for the commodity through the reserved prices, and modernisation of the factories. “We inherited a lot of challenges but through the cooperation of the farmers we have performed to the best, focusing on the increased monthly payment from Sh16 to Sh25 per kg and we have the most improved annual bonus payment this year,” said Ngari.
The appointment of the IEBC was among the proposals contained in the mediation report that included factories to pay lawyers Sh560 million for legal fees.
The mediation report also directed the election be held by June 30. Jamleck Mutiga, a farmer at Mungania tea factory in Embu however pleaded with the government to order for a probe to help trace parcels of land that were bought at millions of shillings.
“It is painful that 70 acres of land in Mbeere that were bought by the directors with farmers’ money in 2013, had the titles cancelled after the property was reclaimed by owners,” said Mutiga.
As the farmers prepare for the election, Peter Kamuri, a farmer in Kanyenya ini called on the government probe the forensic audits to assist to recover resources that were mismanaged, that led to the paying investigators to conduct the forensic audit.Each of the 54 factories, in the audit, he said paid not less than a million shillings, yet none has been prosecuted.
” The farmers are at a loss as more than the former boards had misappropriated over Sh 600 million apart from buying tracks of land at exaggerated prices,” said Kamuri. Jamleck Mutiga at Mungania tea factory in Embu County pleads with the government to order for a probe to help trace parcels of land that were bought at millions of shillings.
” It is painful that 70 acres of land in Mbeere that were bought by the directors with farmers’ money in 2013, had the titles cancelled after the parcels were reclaimed by owners,” said Mutiga. Mercy Mukami at Ragati factory said farmers are happy that the sector has registered a 7.85% increase in total payments to farmers in three years, a significant rise in the average rate for green leaf per kilogramme now trading at Sh25.
Green Land Fedha,she adds had its interest rate lowered from 10 percent to 1.5 percent