With the anxiety growing over the proposed tea bonus payment, there is mixed reaction following the outcome of the analyzed financial statements for the year ended June 30th.
Ngere and Imnenti tea factories in Murang’a and Meru are leading in the proposed bonus payment, after they posed Sh62 and Sh 60.30 per kilogramme respectively.
Ngere posted an impressive of Sh62 per kilogramme from the previous of Sh46,while Ragati tea factory in Mathira, Nyeri clocked a bonus of Sh45.50, an increase from the previous payment of Sh36.
Other factories that declared their bonus payment on Monday are Nyansiongo Sh30.50, Nyankoba Sh40.
KTDA Holding Chairman Enos Njeru said bonus payments will be released next month, adding that tea prices remain competitive based on the quality of the green leaf.
Njeru said in the year production of green leaf increased thus the made tea sold to the local and international market.
“ Bonus payment declaration is determined by the cost of tea production, monthly payment paid to the farmers, and the debts of the projects. The balance is shared among the growers at the factory,” said Njeru when he spoke at Inooro TV.
There were celebrations at Ngere tea factory catchment after the directors led by KTDA Zone Two Board Member James Githinji declared the payment for the delivery of 31,811,000 kilogrammes of green leaf processed between July 1, 2023 and June 30th, 2024.
“ Ngere farmers have been compassionate with production of quality green leaf as advised by the KTDA in efforts to sustain the tea market,” said Githinji.
Imenti was last week celebrated to had achieved Sh60.30 from the previous of Sh52.10
On Monday there were demonstrations in Githambo and Gachege tea factories in Murang’a and Kiambu counties over the reduced bonus payment as the growers demanded answers
The self declared tea activists urged the farmers against accepting a bonus of less than Sh60 per kilogramme in the second bonus payment.
At Githambo, the growers boycotted plucking their green leaf citing they were not comfortable with thje proposed Sh42 declared by the board last week.
The growers told their factory chairman Mr Joseph Karanu that they expected nothing below Sh50 per kilogramme of green leaf.
Joyce Waithera said the farmers are interested in better payment as promised by the directors.
“ The promise for the payment of above Sh50 per kilogramme remains, but to our shock the directors declared payment of Sh42,” said Waithera.
Johnson Maina, a tea farmer, said the directors were elected on a platform of paying high bonus payment.
The farmers have five days to revise the declaration as they will not pluck the green leaf.
“The farmers will not accept anything less than Sh56 as was communicated by senior managers at Githambo tea factory,” said Maina.
Karanu addressing the farmers said they had projected to pay above Sh50, but during the analysis of the financial statements they discovered they had fallen short of resources thus declared Sh42.
“ We have nothing to add to the bonus kitty, as the directors are also tea growers and have interest with the growers who elected them into the positions on the June 29, election,” said Karanu.
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