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{
    "id": 980641,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/980641/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 252,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "South Imenti, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kathuri Murungi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2802,
        "legal_name": "Kathuri Murungi",
        "slug": "kathuri-murungi"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I have been consulting with the Tea Directorate on the reasons why they are not able to move. One of their concerns is that they are not well funded. Initially, there was 1 per cent which was being deducted from any tea that was being exported, which used to go to the Tea Board of Kenya. I was looking at the clause in this Bill touching on the funding of the Board, and it is still not clear what will be the source of funding for it. If we really rely on the Exchequer, the National Treasury, that Board will do nothing to the tea sector. So, there must be a method of how that Board can be self-reliant. I was talking to the Vice-Chair of the Committee as he was walking out and I asked him about the source of funding for the Board and he told me, maybe, it is the money they will get from the National Treasury and Appropriations-in-Aid (A-in-A). The A-in-A will only be the few coins that will be paid by the brokers and people who will be registered by the Board. As we move forward, we must exactly know the source of funding for the Board because, maybe, at one point or the other, they avoided levying the tea sector. They should not levy the farmer since he should not suffer. The people who are taking the tea should have that responsibility. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, as Hon. Cecily Mbarire has put it very clearly, we have a lot of conflict of interest in the tea sector. The directors of the factories are still directors of other affiliate companies owned by KTDA. KTDA has almost 10 subsidiaries which are companies that should benefit the farmer because he or she is a shareholder through the factory. After we elect directors on the ground, those who come to National Board of the KTDA, become directors of the subsidiaries. That is why I want to thank the President for what he announced in January. He said that tea regulations should be brought before this House with immediate effect, so that those subsidiaries can be streamlined by the Competition Authority of Kenya and the National Treasury. So, we are expecting those regulations to come here as soon as possible. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I was talking to the Tea Directorate of AFA, and they confirmed that they are in the process of finalising the regulations. So, most of the issues being raised by Members will still come through the Tea Regulations 2019. I urge Members to be very vigilant when those regulations are brought before this House to the Committee on Delegated Legislation. We should be very keen to give our input. I do not know whether the Committee on Delegated Legislation will be able to undertake public participation on those regulations. That is because they have far-reaching implications and most of the issues we are raising here cannot be handled by the Board. Hon Temporary Deputy Speaker, the tea which we produce in Kenya is CTC tea and is sold to countries whose GDP is equal to ours or a bit better than ours, for example Egypt. Our tea is consumed in Asia and Africa. Therefore, the big economies do not consume our tea because this is not the tea that they like. They have now turned to orthodox tea. Because the role of research will go to the Board, they should be able to ensure that all the factories put up lines to produce orthodox tea, which has a lucrative market in Europe and America. The orthodox tea being produced by factories is not enough in the world market. Therefore, this is the route that we should take. With all those amendments and issues brought before this House, I am very certain that we will be able to streamline and improve the tea sector. Currently, as Members have said, almost all the farmers are desperate. They have no school fees because the bonus came at Kshs30. There are others who got Kshs11 per kilogramme. This is the right time for us to handle the tea sector and streamline the coffee, sugar and fish sectors. I do not know whether the fish sector should be streamlined. I was in Kisumu over the weekend and the residents there are complaining that there is no fish in the Lake. What I The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}