KTDA says Munya tea regulations unconstitutional

The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has poked holes into the proposed regulations that seek to loosen its stranglehold on 69 factories saying some of the rules are unconstitutional.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya released the draft Tea Industry Regulations 2020 last week and gave stakeholders 14 days within which to present their views.

Among the proposed changes, KTDA will lose its role in export with earnings from tea being channelled to individual factory as opposed to the current practices where they are held centrally in the agency’s accounts.

The KTDA, in a brief that will be presented to the ministry, dismisses some the regulations terming them “unconstitutional” and “punitive”. According to the agency, the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has also been given too much powers that will result to bureaucratic tendencies thus stifling growth of the sector. Rule 10 (7) requires a factory to have 250 hectares of planted tea before renewal of their licenses, which KTDA says will pose challenges for factories to acquire such land. This regulation implies that farmers must give up land to the factory. This is unconstitutional since it interferes with individual’s right to own property,” the agency says. According to regulation 10 (12), a tea manufacturer should build a factory within three years of issuance of a licence, failure to which the permit will lapse.

“This means farmers will not have adequate time to accumulate the required equity to build satellite factories and the spirit and intention of this regulation is therefore punitive in nature,” says KTDA.

Mr Paul Ringera, a director at Githongo Tea Factory, said some of the rules were good but cautioned that some would work against the sector. “We are not opposed to the regulations but the ministry should exercise caution so that farmers are not disadvantaged. ,” he said.