Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya says the government is considering taking back Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) as a parastatal.
As an Authority, it was a parastatal but became private as an Agency, during which time the organisation has become “a monster to farmers,” according to the Delegated Committee chairman Mohamed Faki.
Other organisations that have reverted to State ownership include New KCC, Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Kenya Farmers Association, KPCU, and Kenya Seed. This development should take farmers back to the drawing board on their ability to organise and manage their affairs independently.
If KTDA as constituted is a thorn in the flesh of hardworking tea farmers, then the time is right to launch a process that will ensure that members, through the representative factories, get value for money.
Because, according to the House committee, KTDA is not helping farmers, the government, in taking back the organisation, ought to listen to farmers more than anybody else for the change to bear fruit.
Source: Business Daily
