The Mountain Journal
Tea farmers from Kirinyaga and Embu counties are pleading with Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe to concentrate on his parliamentary duties and stop meddling in the tea sector affairs.
The farmers said he should resign from the MP position if want to contest the KTDA Holding chairmanship position.
The tea farmers from KTDA zones five and six said that it would be selfish, unfair, immoral and a great conflict of interests for the lawmaker to pass laws regarding the tea sector and then still be the one to implement them as the head of KTDA.
Led by John Kathangu, the farmers have said that the tea sector reforms have started to make sense to the farmers and it would not be fair for the legislator to come and drag back the gains.
Kagombe was elected as the Zone 1 board member in Kiambu county during last week’s zonal elections trouncing former KTDA Holdings chairman David Ichoho.
The farmers, Kathangu said, want Kagombe to stop being selfish and let the tea farmers body be led by a person who will dedicate all his time and energies into activities that will benefit the farmer.
” Under the chairmanship of the current KTDA chairman Enos Njeru alot has been achieved for the interest of the farmers, among them payment increment from Sh21 to Sh25 per kilogramme of green leaf in an year,”.
As such the farmers now want Njeru to remain at the helm of KTDA leadership moving forward so that he can have more time to actualise the plans he had put in place for the benefit of the farmers.
Another farmer, Teresia Muthoni, said that the legislator cannot serve two masters and as such, he must choose where he wants to be, either in parliament making policies or at KTDA implementing the policies but they will not allow him to take both.
Muthoni added that farmers in the East of Rift will support their own during the KTDA holdings elections for continuity.
“There is a conspiracy in the region as there are candidates from the counties of Kiambu, Murang’a and Kirinyaga out to contest against Njeru. Njeru comes from Embu and has proved to have the capacity to steer the tea sector to success,” said Muthoni.
George Muriuki say the issue of intergrity should be put in consideration in the KTDA holding election to ensure we have the best leadership.
Muriuki a farmer at Ndima tea factory say there is need for procedures to guard the sector from being manipulated by persons without experience.
” Issue sorrounding chapter six of the constitution should be addressed to ensure we have the best persons in the leadership of the organisations,” said Muriuki.
The latest to declare interes to run is John Mithamo Wasusan from zone six after the Tuesday board member election.
