Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has hit back at critics who have shown dislike for his style of politics.
While confronting the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Holdings directors during the induction workshop on Thursday, September 5, 2024, held in Mombasa, Gachagua said that he is aware that some individuals dislike him because of his boldness when it comes to speaking the truth.
Additionally, the DP said regardless of the háte, he will continue to fight for Kenyan farmers, adding that the love he gets from his spouse is enough for him.
“Najua wengine hamunipendi lakini mimi siyo lazima nipendwe, si pastor Dorcas ananipenda sasa iko haja gani mimi kupendwa na wanaume? Hakuna haja, we must speak the truth, and the time to fight for the farmer is now.
“There is no justification whatsoever for KTDA, a company dealing with farmers and tea, to engage in different businesses that are loss-making and ask the farmers to carry that loss,” Gachagua said.
Excessive spending
Gachagua lamented over what he termed excessive spending by the directors; he pointed out that the director’s local and travel expenditures for six months had hit Ksh44 million.
“You know I am a truthful man, so allow me to tell you the truth because if I don’t tell you, the farmers will. If you look at foreign travel for directors between January and June 2024, KTDA holdings on foreign and local travel we have spent Ksh44 million.
“Ksh44 million, Directors of Kenya Holdings, between January and June, and all this money will be deducted from the farmers,” he added.
Gachagua on expenses, costs
The second in command has called on the leadership of the agency to slash their expenses with the new KTDA directors expected to assume office.
He informed the directors that their spending habits threaten the entire tea sector, with farmers contemplating ditching the crop.
“So I want to ask you, as you settle to work, let us put effort into how to reduce expenses for the directors so that the farmers can get their rightful share, because if a farmer gives up, he will uproot the tea and there will be no one to elect you,” Gachagua directed.
Additionally, Gachagua challenged the directors to find new markets to meet the farmers’ while raising concerns over the cost of production per kilogram of tea leaves.
He asked the leaders to devise a mechanism to bring down the cost of production and also demanded better payment for their harvests.
“Anything short of this is a fail,” Gachagua maintained while announcing plans to revamp the tea sector.
“The Tea Board of Kenya must ensure that depend factories and tea brokers who do not do the right thing have their licenses revoked immediately and surcharged,” he added.
