Thursday, September 12, 2024 - Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has asked Mt Kenya leaders led by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwah not to politicize the tea sector, warning that it could hamper higher income for thousands of farmers.
Speaking at a funeral in Nandi
on Wednesday, Gachagua said unnecessary politics had seen some leaders drag
politics into the sale of tea at the Mombasa Auction, resulting in a pileup of
tea stocks from Nandi, Bomet, Kericho, Nyamira, and Kakamega counties at
warehouses in Mombasa.
Gachagua said it's wrong to
politicise everything at a time when Kenyans are waiting for the government to
provide solutions to the current economic hardships.
“I was there last week, and we
solved the issue on reserve price and it has been lifted. Tea from the region
is now being sold at the auction,” the DP said.
He said it was wrong for some
leaders to try to destabilise the tea sector through petty politics at a time
when the government, under the leadership of President William Ruto, was
focused on improving the lives of Kenyans through key interventions aimed at
bettering the economy.
The DP asked leaders not to
politicise the sale of tea, saying it would destabilise the sector on which
thousands of farmers are dependent.
He advised farmers to consider
the production of orthodox tea, which was more beneficial, saying tea hawking,
a prevalent practice in the region, was compromising the quality of Kenya’s tea
exports.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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