By Patrick Kibet

A showdown between farmers and Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK) seems far from over despite a High Court ruling, giving the board the nod to sell non-core assets in Nakuru.

Last week, the High Court in Nakuru allowed the board to sell Sh300 million non-core assets after dismissing three applications temporarily stopping the auction in October last year. Justice Anyara Emukule dismissed three petitions filed by Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), a group of farmers from Molo and a former employee.

Yesterday, PBK Managing Director Isaac Mulagoli praised the court ruling and said plans to revive the board will start as soon as the Government gives them a go-ahead.

Dr Mulagoli, who has been at the helm of PBK for four years, said objections raised by farmers were wrong since the assets sale was approved at the highest level.

“When the injunction was given by the court, we had followed all procedures including seeking approval from the Cabinet,” he said.

The pyrethrum sector has been on a decline for years due to incessant financial woes facing the board.

The three groups went to court on October 24 last year, a day before a scheduled auction and obtained orders barring the exercise. The farmers want representatives appointed to the board of directors to oversee the pyrethrum sector.

The Pyrethrum Act provided for appointment of six members to the Board of Directors for two years by the minister to represent farmers’ interests.

Dismissed

The farmers said they were not consulted when the plan to offload the non-core assets was approved, but Mulagoli said on February 18, 2010 when the decision was reached, farmers representatives were part of the board. 

After the court ruling, the board expects a disbursement of Sh100 million from the Treasury to boost their operations and pay for flowers delivered in February and March.

PBK needs Sh500 million to revive the declining sector, offset debts, pay farmers and overhaul the crushing plant in Nakuru.

“We needed Sh500 million to trigger investment and generate revenue internally to sustain the board operations,” Mulagoli said. The board disclosed that non-core assets earmarked for sale constitute 7.5  per cent of the board’s assets worth over Sh4 billion.

Another row between the board and RBA was dismissed on grounds the latter was a regulator of the pension schemes and had no direct supervisory powers over PBK.

Justice Emukule, while dismissing the suit noted that only the liquidator of the scheme has been empowered to demand from PBK for payments of the members.

Mulagoli said the dispute between the board and RBA was long standing and stemmed in 1994 when Pyrethrum Provident Fund, a pension scheme then ran by the board, was dissolved.

“RBA would like to wind-up the scheme to cover up what happened when scheme was dissolved in 1994,” Mulagoli said.

The farmers’ lawyer Samuel Kihiu said though the farmers lost the case, the board should not rush to dispose-off the non-core assets but wait for county governments.

“We are not against the board selling the non-assets to raise the funds but we want farmers’ representatives involved in the sale,” he said.

Mr Kihiu claimed there is a ploy by certain individuals to acquire the properties located in prime plots in Milimani estate in Nakuru cheaply.

He said in August last year, the board received Sh100 million from the Government but only Sh30 million was paid to farmers for flowers delivery.