Tea firms deny that they underpay land rates

Kenya Tea Growers Association Chief Executive Apollo Kiarii.

Multinational tea companies have disputed Kericho leaders’ claims that they have been underpaying their annual land rates. Kenya Tea Growers Association Chief Executive Apollo Kiarii said they have been paying Sh1,260 per acre of land per year contrary to the leaders’ claims that they have been paying Sh300.

“Discussion with the defunct Kericho, Bomet and Nyamira municipal council in 2010 settled on a 10-year agreement over the amount,” he said. In the land agreement documents seen by Saturday Standard, the rates agreement for the 80,000 acres of land under lease to the multinational tea companies will lapse at the end of next year.