NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 18 – The Senate will on Monday hold a special sitting to consider the much-awaited Tea Bill which will see the revival of the Tea Board of Kenya and adoption of new regulations to govern the cartel-soaked sector.
Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka said he recalled the Senators who are on their Christmas Recess following a request of the Senate Majority Leader Samuel Poghisio.
This comes after the National Assembly approved the bill last month but made amendments to some parts of the Bill which if signed into law, will compel tea brokers, buyers and auction organisers to ensure that the proceeds from the sale of tea is paid within 14 days and the factory will now pay 50 per cent of receipt of the sales to the farmers.
According to the sponsor of the Bill, Kericho Senator Aaron Cheriyiout says an earlier attempt to have management agents such as KTDA sit at the Tea Board was dropped and the crucial one-man-one-vote in the election of directors, which had been omitted, leading to uproar by farmers, was reinstated and passed.
The Tea Research Foundation, which used to carry our research on the sector, will also come back in the proposed law.
The CS will also have powers to prescribe regulations for the tea auction which is solely handled by the East African Tea Trade Association.
If the Bill is enacted, the auction organiser will establish an electronic trading platform that is accessible to all players in the value chain. This will remove the opaque practice where farmers hardly know how their produce is sold.
If the Senators do not agree with changes made by the National Assembly, the Speakers of both Houses will appoint a Mediation Committee which will report to both Houses and the Bill will then be sent to the President for signing.