Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria has ordered the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to make public its financial statements for the year 2018 and 2019.
On Monday, High Court in Murang’a directed the Auditor General to examine the tea earnings of all farmers including bonuses and produces. Farmers from the county have been lamenting over unpaid bonuses and they want the authority to respond with immediate effect.
While delivering the ruling on the matter, Judge Kanyi Kimondo directed the authority to respond to the directive as soon as possible. Wa Iria had said that the farmers are not convinced with the records presented to them.
The county government said that the authority cannot explain the recent drop of tea payments after it recorded Sh2.6 billion in 2018. The governor was represented in court by six lawyers in court as he seeks to defend the farmers. Led by Mr Charles Njenga, the legal team said that the farmers have no choice but to uproot tea if their demands are not met.
“I urge the auditor general of the republic of Kenya to consider carrying out an independent audit on the tea earnings, bonuses and the produce supplied to KTDA in the year 2019 and that the copy of the same [be] filed in this court,” the judge ordered, as quoted by Daily Nation.
The court has asked the respondents to act in accordance with the constitution over the matter. The governor has vowed not to relent in the quest for better pay for them in the end.