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Kenyan tea re-nationalisation bid triggers sharp divisions
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THE PROVERBIAL storm is brewing in Kenya's tea cup following calls to transform the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) from a private company into a stateowned organisation. The tea industry, Kenya's most economically viable cash crop has also come into sharp focus ahead of the release of a report by a task force appointed by the government to look into the structures governing the business. |
The task force which is scheduled to present its report is expected to propose a raft of radical measures aimed at streamlining the operations of the agency. A section of stakeholders in the industry want the government to reclaim ownership of the authority to enable it to perform its regulatory roles effectively.
Only seven years after parliament pushed for the autonomy of the authority, proponents of the move led by members of parliament argue that as a private entity, KTDA has failed to live up to its mandate thus the need for the state to take charge again.
Campaigns to push for the reversal has elicited varied reactions from a cross section of industry players and heightened fears that the lucrative industry could recede into limbo if the matter was not addressed soon. Already two watchdog committees of parliament have differed over the issue setting the stage for a showdown in the house as they lobby for support to enable them to push through their agenda.
The parliamentary committee on Agriculture said that there was urgent need for the government to take over management of the authority since the current managers were not responsive to the dynamics of the industry. Last year, Kenya earned Ksh47.3 billion from exports to the global market compared to Ksh42.4 billion in 2005, on the back of better prices and lower production. The country's total tea production stood at 310 million kilograms in the same period, accounting for 10% of the global tea supply.
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