Sunday, October 23, 2022 – Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua came to the rescue of the multinational tea companies after Governors in Kericho, Bomet and Nandi threatened to evict them from the region.
The foreigners were accused of investing heavily in machines on their farms while local workers struggled to secure jobs.
One of the technologies cited was tea harvesting machines which locals lamented rendered them jobless. Area governors thus threatened to chase away the foreign investors and petition the Lands Ministry to cancel 99-year land leases.
However, on Friday, Gachagua announced plans to convene a crisis meeting between the politicians and the investors.
The DP urged the county bosses to embrace mediation to de-escalate the issue.
Gachagua also promised to address the unemployment issue and adoption of technology which triggered the conflict.
“We don’t have issues with foreign investors, but we shall look into the issue of tea plucking machines because they are affecting our youth,” Gachagua stated in Kikuyu dialect.
“But it is an issue that must be discussed amicably. We don’t want to be seen as if we are chasing foreign investors. We are planning to meet with the governors from Nandi, Kericho, Bomet and all other areas using the machines and investors in the multinational tea companies to agree on what we will do so that our youth get jobs,” he added.
Gachagua maintained that President William Ruto’s government was determined to create favourable business conditions for both locals and foreigners.
Kericho Governor Eric Mutai claimed that more than 10,000 locals lost their jobs due to the introduction of the machines.
Mutai sustained the attacks during Mashujaa Day celebrations, where he vowed to protect the residents’ social welfare even if meant chasing away the investors.
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