State crackdowns on fraudulent tea weighing machines

Workers pick tea using a tea harvesting machine. [File, Standard]

Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Ronoh has warned weighing clerks at tea-buying centres against tampering with weighing scales.

Speaking when he conducted a comprehensive inspection across tea buying centers in Kericho county, the PS said that farmers had incurred losses due to falsification of weighing machines at tea buying centers.

“We are going to ensure that the tea collection process at the tea buying centres is anti-scale tampered with and because we have realized the machines used currently are being tampered with and exploiting our farmers,” Ronoh said.

The PS said Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) in conjunction with the Tea Board of Kenya and the Weigh and Measures Department has launched operation in some tea buying centres to ensure weighing scales cannot be calibrated to facilitate fraud.

He said this follows widespread complaints from farmers over dissatisfaction with the earnings  from produce supplied to the tea factories.

"This is a grave case of fraud, with farmers being deceived regarding the quantity of kilograms they deliver to the green tea factories. It is a meticulously planned scheme to swindle farmers out of their rightful earnings," he said.

Ronoh visited Chebisom in Kipchimchim, Torit, Lorraine/Kwomburiot, Chepinyonyei in Ainamoi constituency, among others.

"I verified machine calibrations and engaged with farmers on their challenges,"  he said.

At the Chepinyonyei tea buying centre, a clerk fled into a nearby tea plantation after being found with a tampered weighing machine.

Ronoh instructed KTDA to refund the unaccounted deductions on the fertiliser subsidy programme following farmers' complaints.

"This visit demonstrates the government’s commitment to accountability, equitable practices, and farmer welfare in the tea sector," he said.