Millions of shillings will be used to facilitate tea director’s elections in the 54 smallholder tea factories. It has been established that each of the factories will be parting with between Sh1.2 million and Sh3.5 million to cater for the cost of the polls, more than 680,000 tea growers will participate on June 28.
The expenditure per factory has raised eye blows with local farmers describing the exercise as an expensive affair. Already, the 700 directorship candidates have been cleared to run each paying Sh 10,000 to their respective factories as agreed in the settlement consent.
The candidates say in the past election the cost of; presiding the polls, factories budgeted for between Sh100,000 and Sh150,000 per electoral zone. A factory has six electoral areas as the County Times managed to establish what some of the factories will pay to facilitate the election, Nduti Sh1.2 million, Kanyenya-ini Sh 1.2 million, Gatunguru Sh2.5 million, Ikumbi Sh2,1 million, Makomboki Sh 3.5 million, Gacharage Sh2,088,000, and Githambo Sh 2.5 million.
Peter Karanja Muturi
In Kirinyaga Ndima, Kangaita Sh 2.25 million,Kimunye Sh 2.5million and Thumaita Sh 2.3 million.
The directors’ candidates question the hefty fees to preside election in the factories, as campaign mood spreads across the tea growing belts. Makomboki Factory will be paying the highest amount of Sh3.5 million, Njunu ShSh 2.1 million, Kiru Sh 2.3 million,Ngere Sh 2.5 million, and Mununga Sh2.5 million.
The contestants in the poll are the current directors, the former and the youth professional’s majority with managerial skills. More than 700 candidates are eying for the available 324 director positions in the 54 factories that are splashing goodies to the tea growers.
KTDA Chairman Enos Njeru says the election will be competitive, pleading with the growers to elect the team that perfected the tea reforms. ” Alot of money will be spent in the election but am confident that the growers will elect the team that has perfected the reforms and increased the price of green leaf shot up from Sh16 to Sh25 per kilogramme in three years,” said Njeru.
Vice Chairman at Makomoki tea factory Mr Mwangi Mbote said the cost of the election was too high, but they will have to abide by the settlement agreement.
” The factories will pay the cost of the election and we have a bill of Sh 3.5 million,” said Mbote. Kiru tea factory chairman Chege Kirundi says the farmers will pay Sh2.3 million, as the electoral body will hire vehicles to transport the polling clerks and electoral materials to the polling centres among other logistics.
Mr Enos Njeru
” In the past the same election used to cost the factory not more than Sh600,000,” the chairman said.
At the Gacharage factory, Chairman Wilfred Karau said the cost of running the election was an expensive venture. He said there was a need for IEBC to itemise the budget to ensure transparency in the utilization of farmers resources.
“For clarity the budget should be itemised to ensure there is utmost transparency in the spending of the farmers resources,” said Karau Vice Chairman at Ikumbi Gerald Ngumba said the cost issues should be revisited to ensure the cost will be manageable.
“The amount charged per factory has been exaggerated as the farmers demand a breakdown on the expenses to ensure transparency,” said Ngumba. Chairman of the tea growers association in Aberdare and Mt Kenya region, Wambugu Gachunji said although millions of shillings will be used, the farmers are duty bound to elect those with a track record in the industry.
” Outcry that existed has been reduced after the directors moved closer to the farmers in the buying centre meetings,” said Mr Wambugu.
Joe Mahugu