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{
    "id": 978936,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/978936/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 142,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Murang’a CWR, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Sabina Chege",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 884,
        "legal_name": "Sabina Wanjiru Chege",
        "slug": "sabina-wanjiru-chege"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. At the outset, I support the Bill, especially the proposal to come up with the Tea Board of Kenya. The Tea Board of Kenya existed before. I was actually wondering, with the new recommendations that we are going to have the tea sub-sector looked into, whether there can be a presidential directive instead of waiting for this Bill to go through the House. All the same, I support the Bill but as you advised during the Third Reading, we need to do a lot of amendments because, as my colleagues have said, tea is our number one foreign exchange earner. The spirit of having the AFA following the passage of the AFA Act in 2013, was to look at other crops. It was ill-advised for tea and coffee to be put in the AFA. I would have expected AFA to deal with millet, sorghum and other crops that need a lot of attention for food security in this nation. Having said so, I not only envisage us having the Tea Board of Kenya, but my bigger dream is having a Ministry that can take care of cash crops, and especially tea and coffee – this country’s leading foreign exchange earners. Hon. Speaker, I have seen several recommendations with regard to the Board, the CEO and the Corporation Secretary. I would recommend, as part of the amendments, that we would have to do this in line with the State Corporations Act. I have seen recommendation to the effect that the Company Secretary should have seven years’ experience while the CEO should have just five years’ experience. I think it should be vice versa. I am proud to say that we have 11 factories in my county. Some Members were asking me why I need to speak about tea. We have 11 factories and all the farmers are small-scale farmers. We need to look into the way board members are appointed at the factory level. With regard to shareholding, we know that they are mainly small-scale farmers and, therefore, they may not have sufficient shares. Therefore, we have some directors who are appointed by a few individuals whereas the majority would want to have their preferred directors. However, because they do not have the required number of tea bushes – we no longer have big farms – we have a few people controlling the industry. I hope this Bill will also address the issue of cartels. We know farmers have been suffering because of lack of subsidies, for instance, on fertiliser. They get fertiliser very late and it does not come cheap for them."
}