Agriculture PS Paul Ronoh orders probe into Meru tea factory bonus feud
Agriculture Principal Secretary Dr Paul Ronoh. He has ordered a probe into the operations of Mîcii Mîkûru tea factory in Meru.
The government has ordered a probe into the operations of Mîcii Mîkûru tea factory in Meru County following a contentious bonus payout two months ago.
Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Ronoh, who visited the factory on Friday, also directed the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to refund excess money deducted from farmers for fertiliser.
Two months ago, farmers staged protests to reject a Sh35 bonus payment which was lower compared to Sh47 paid last year.
The angry farmers forced out the board members and elected an interim team to run the factory leading to a court battle.
More than 50 acres of the factory tea estate were set on fire in the protests.
Dr Ronoh, who was accompanied by Tigania East MP Mpuru Aburi, said preliminary investigations had unearthed mismanagement and abuse of resources by the board and KTDA.
"KTDA should refund the extra money deducted for fertiliser by December 5. You cannot charge farmers extra money yet the government has given a Sh2 billion fertiliser subsidy. If they don't do this, we will deal with them according to the law," he said.
Mr Lawi Kaume, a farmer, said he was charged Sh49,000 in arrears for 20 bags of fertiliser he never took.
"The Sh49,000 was deducted as arrears for fertiliser received in 2023 yet I paid for every bag of fertiliser I received last year."
"They have charged me for 20 bags yet I have never taken more than six bags of fertiliser. If at all I had 2023 arrears, why didn't it reflect in my previous payslips? This is fraudulent," Mr Kaume said.
The Agriculture PS said the team of investigators would arrive at Mîcii Mîkûrû next week and a report prepared within seven days.
He ordered the embattled as well as the interim directors to keep off during the investigations.
"The team will probe the accounts and audit all transactions of Mîcii Mîkûrû tea factory and establish whether there are any underhand dealings. Anyone found to have misused farmers resources will be held accountable," Dr Ronoh said.
Among the concerns to be probed at Mîcii Mîkuûrû factory include the existence of three company names at the factory, allegations of faulty weighing scales, and mismanagement of the factory's 600-acre estate among others.
The PS claimed that the existence of three company names under the factory pointed to fishy business.
"We understand that rogue clerks have been tampering with farmers' kilos at tea-buying centres. The DCI should move in and investigate the fraud in the tea buying centres."
"The county government should also probe their weights and measures staff for allowing poor calibration of scales," the PS directed.
Mr Samson Gitonga, a farmer, called for investigations into how farmers whose tea is processed and sold by neighbouring Igembe factory earned less than Igembe farmers.
"Due to distance, some farmers under Miciimikuru deliver tea to Igembe factory. While Igembe paid more than Sh50, we were paid Sh35," Mr Gitonga protested.
Mr Mike Makarina, a resident, who filed a court case against the factory directors, wondered why the richest factory in the region was struggling to pay farmers.
"We believe that there are individuals who are benefitting from this factory more than the farmer. We urge President William Ruto to rescue Micii Mikuru farmers from the yoke of corruption and mismanagement," Mr Makarina said.
PS Ronoh said the government was keen on resolving the challenges facing tea farmers after the establishment of a 21-member task force to investigate unsold tea amounting to over 100 million kilogrammes.
Miciimikuru tea factory is among those affected with embattled directors blaming poor pay on more than 780,000 kilos of unsold orthodox teas.
Embattled chairman Stephen Kathiri earlier said the unsold orthodox tea could have earned them over Sh350 million.
The factory has also been heaving under the weight of old machinery and a Sh183 million dollar-denominated loan.
KTDA, the management service provider, was put on the spot for allowing the dispute to escalate.
