{"id":786375,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/786375/?format=json","text_counter":256,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"get to this level. It is my sincere hope that we shall reverse this and place tea farmers where they belong. Madam Temporary Speaker, our work is cut out for us. There are many things that we will listen to. It is my sincere hope that, together with other Senators whose names we have put forth to serve in this Committee, we shall call these people and get their views on, for example, the KTDA. We have so many questions to ask them. When we test their popularity or otherwise with tea farmers, the answers vary because there are those who feel that you are interfering with something that is already working. This is, however, for fear of a total collapse. Up to when shall we fear and say that if we touch this institution, tea farmers are going to suffer? Are we not subjecting ourselves to misery and hopelessness? Why do we look at ourselves, as leaders with such a low esteem, and feel that we cannot propose good solutions for this industry? Madam Temporary Speaker, it will be interesting for you to know that tea is among the most taxed commodities in this country. You will remember that, last week, we were given a response from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. We were told that 32 to 38 tax units go directly to tea farmers, which is really unfortunate. We shall, therefore, request to have audience with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and hear them out on whether we can negotiate and reduce some of these taxes so that we can send more money to farmers. That way, they can begin to enjoy the fruits they have been laboring for all these years. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is a known fact that if we are not careful – Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri and many other Senators who come from tea growing counties know this – very few people will be planting new crops of tea. In fact, many are the people who are stuck with tea bushes they do not know what to do with. They just retain these crops because they do not have an alternative. However, it is extremely difficult to find a new farmer saying, ‘I want to become an investor in the tea sector’ because of all these challenges. Multinationals have not been left out as I speak about this. The history is well known and clear that in counties like Kisii, Kericho and Nandi, many of these multinationals are occupying land that they never paid for. Many of these firms are owned by companies that come from our former colonial masters. To date, there is no compensation that goes to the evictees and the people that were pushed away from those firms, so that these multinationals can be set up. Occasionally, I get invites in my office, the office of the Senator of Kericho County, to the effect that Unilever or George Williamson are opening a classroom in X,Y,Z primary school. Out of the billions that they make and the free land, the only thing they can think about is to set up a small classroom here and there. We must begin to ask ourselves what is it that we can do, as leaders, so that we can speak for our people and get value for money. That is our land. These multinationals did not come with any land from their countries; they found it here. You will be shocked by the taxes they pay to our county governments. The other day the County Government of Kericho was acquiring a parcel of land from Unilever and they were charged Kshs10 million per acre, yet the land rates that they pay is shocking. It is only Kshs96 per acre, per year. However, when you tell them that The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."}