Farmers elect directors of tea factories
By Jeremy Ogola
Tea farmers who market their produce through the Kenya Tea Development Agency have elected their regional representatives the 66 tea factories.
KTDA Group Company Secretary John Kennedy Omanga termed the polls held on Tuesday as free and fair.
More than 150,000 shareholders of the 66 tea factory companies managed by the Kenya Tea Development Agency across the country went to the polls two days ago to elect new directors for their factories.
According to results released by the Kenya Tea Development Agency, 37 candidates were elected unopposed in their various regions. A further 27 candidates were newly elected and 45 candidates were re-elected.
The elections come at a time when tea farmers enjoyed high earnings in 2015, with tea bonus payments rising 21 percent compared to what was issued in 2014.
He said: “The shareholders, who are small scale tea farmers, elect one-third of Factory Company directors who retire on rotation every year and are subject to the nomination process according to their respective Company Articles.”
Omanga noted that a majority of the shareholders have fully understood the rationale for electing directors based on the strength of the individual shareholders.
Results of the eagerly awaited elections from the 223 polling stations were announced on the same day at the respective electoral areas once tallying of ballots was completed.
There were more than 200 candidates vying for directorships, having met all the requirements set by their respective factory companies for participation in the elections.
The annual polls are an essential part of the corporate governance process at KTDA-managed factories that requires shareholders to elect their representatives as stipulated under Company Law and Articles of respective factory companies.
