South Rift politicians turn the heat on tea farms

By Kipkirui K’Telwa

When Roads Minister Franklin Bett hosted top ODM leaders led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga at Korongoi Primary School last Saturday, the Mau forest eviction was expected to dominate.

After all, that had been the message the Prime Minister had been preaching at every roadside rally on his way to the party. But when Energy Assistant Minister Charles Keter took to the podium, he simply read the riot act to James Finlay, one of the leading and oldest multinational tea firms in the South Rift. To Keter, the British tea firm was behaving badly.

And when it was Bett’s turn to speak, he fired straight at James Finlay and added Unilever Tea to his target list. Like Keter, he asked the tea firms to tread carefully.

It could not escape a keen observer the two leaders were linking the impending Mau evictions, of mostly Kipsigis community, to the compulsory acquisition of land by the colonialists to plant tea bushes that led to shortage of land. That, to many local leaders, forced many dispossessed Kipsigis to move into the forest in search of more arable land.

"It should be made clear to the tea firms that the land in which their tea bushes are planted was forcibly acquired by colonialists from our forefathers and that the families of those affected have not been resettled or compensated," Bett said.

James Finlay’s rushed mechanised tea production system that will declare more than 3,000 employees redundant and the hiring of "10 senior expatriates" to replace the local people seemed to have irked Keter, who is also Belgut MP.

"These machines will declare many workers redundant because most of them will not have met their target by 11am, when plucking green leaves stops," observes Keter.

Unilever, like James Finlay, is a British owned multinational tea firm in Kericho. According to 2006 data provided by Kericho-based Kenya Tea Growers Association, the firms have a combined labour force of 40,000.

Keter is opposed to the controversial 999-year lease enjoyed by the tea firms, and also faults James Finlay for hiring foreigners for duties that could be competently rendered by Kenyans.

"All sections are headed by foreigners. The company has flouted immigration regulations by hiring more than three expatriates to run key sectors of production," Keter told The Standard.on Sunday

But James Finlay’s Operations Director Nelson Orgut says his firm followed the law in hiring expatriates.

"James Finlay followed the procedure to the letter. We did not break any rule in hiring them," Orgut said.

Though he could not specify the number of foreigners on their payroll, Orgut argues that the launch of new tea products compelled them to hire expatriates with special knowledge.

He adds that the introduction of the proposed stevia plant would create more job opportunities for the local community.

"The 999-year land lease, the peanuts paid as land rates to respective councils and racial discrimination are some of the issues that should be addressed urgently," Keter said.

"We agreed with the company a few years ago that they could introduce mechanised tea plucking and processing on a 30 per cent of their total tea estates acreage but they have now increased it to more than 50 per cent and are laying off staff," he said.

But Unilever Corporate Affairs Director Francis Kaptich absolves his firm from blame, saying they have been actively involved in activities aimed at alleviating poverty in the area besides providing employment to thousands of people.

"We are sponsoring 56 students in public universities, have been supporting learning institutions by building new classrooms and equipping laboratories. In fact, we opened a Sh1.5m laboratory last week at Chepkutung Secondary School," says Kaptich.

Keter, Bett, Mr William Ruto, Mr Henry Kosgey, Mr Magerer Langat, Dr Julius Kones and Mr Joshua Kutuny are among the Rift Valley legislators who have openly resisted eviction of people from Mau forest.

Therefore, it was not lost to local observers that Bett and Keter were amplifying the relationship between land grabbing by colonialists to create space for tea plantation and encroachment of the Mau forest by the Kipsigis. Early this week, Wildlife Minister Noah Wekesa took a swipe at some unnamed Rift Valley MPs for frustrating efforts to restore the Mau complex. The fact that Wekesa chose not to name the "dissenting leaders" is a clear indication that the fate of Mau will be determined politically, not by executive proclamations.

The PM assured the locals that he would not carry out an exercise that would hurt them. As Kipsigis politicians prepare for 2012 elections, their re-elections will be determined by their positions on the twin issue of Mau and of multinational tea companies.