By Leo Odera Omolo
   
      
  Trouble is brewing in the usually quiet Tea Board of Kenya over the board representation in some parts of the tea growing zone.
  
  The source of the problem is the current Sotik zone representative in the board Mr. Titus Korir whose tenure is schedule to expire next month. Korir is a former corporate director of the James Finlays TEA Company Limited. He is also doubling as the current chairman of the Kericho based Tea Growers Association of Kenya (KTGA).
  
  He retired from the company about five years ago but was retained on a three year contract that has since expired. Both large and small scale tea farmers in the Sotik zone have disowned Mr. Korir arguing that he represented the area in default, and that the time is ripe for the farmers to pick one of their own to represente their interests in the Tea Board of Kenya.
   
  Meanwhile, officials of the Kenya Plantation and general Agricultural Workers Union have put up strong arguments saying that since Mr. Korir has keft the services of the James Finlays Tea Company he should no longer sit in the KTGA board because he has ceased to be a player in the tea industry. He is not a large scale tea farmer anywhere within the tea industry fraternity.  Therefore, the sooner he removes himself from the KTGA the better.
  
  A source at the unions office in Nandi Hills  warned that unless Mr. Korir stops forthwith from acting on behalf of KTGA, the union would consider the option of not recognizing the board’s decisions, especially those concerning industrial relations matters.
  
  Sotik farmers said they were firm and would no longer consider Mr. Korir as their representative. “We are in the process of proposing the name of a true and genuine farmers from the Sotik zone who would represent our interests in the board,” said one farmer who requested anonymity for fear of possible consequences.
  
  According to a Union source, Mr. Korir, after retiring from the James Finlays Tea Company (formerly African Highland Produce Limited), has now moved to the KTGA headquarters based in Kericho Town from where he is now operating as an executive director on a daily basis.  Yet the position of the KTGA chairmanship is a non-executive one. The union finds this to be mischievous. Once a Director of  James Finlays Tea Company retires from the tea company, he immediately relinquishes his position to a full-time serving director of the same firm. His mandate expires and he should not continue to create despondency within both the KTGA and Tea Board of Kenya.
  
  Workers and staff at the James Finlays Tea company where Mr. Korir had served in senior positions for many years had celebrated his exit, saying that he was running the company with an iron fist. He is blamed for heavy handedness in tackling tea workers matters, and for having promoted sectarianism and nepotism in the services of the company as well as tribal cleansing.
   
The Union is blaming the management of the James Finlaysd for allegedly allowing and enabling Mr. Korir to continue frustrating the workers even though he had already retired from the company. “Sooner or later we shall ignore any discussion involving industrial maters with the KTGA if Mr. Korir continues to sit chairing the board’s meetings. The union might consider the possibility of revoking most of its agreement with KTGA under the chairmanship of Mr. Korir,” said a union source in Nakuru.
  
  The Unions secretary General Francis Atwoli, who is also the secretary general of the Central organization of Trade Unions of Kenya (COTU-K) could not be reached for immediate comments on the issue.  The CEO of James Finlays Tea Company, Mr. Nail Davies, also could not be reached for his immediate comment.
  
  But a source at the Union hinted that they were not comfortable with the controversial former James Finlays  Tea Company  director and would support his immediate removal from the KTGA. “After replacing him from the office, the company should not allow the same person whose services had been discontinued to represent them in the sensitive KTGA board which is the one handling its industrial relations mattrers,” said a top union official.
  
  Ends
  
  leooderaomolo@yahoo.com