Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi failed to honor an invite by the parliamentary Committee on Implementation to explain the status of a House resolution.
In a statement, the committee indicated that Linturi instead sent representatives who came alongside officials of the Agriculture Food Authority (AFA). However, the representatives the CS sent could not comprehensively respond to questions raised by the committee.
The committee expected answers regarding the revival of the cashew nuts industry in the Coast Region, and an explanation on the status of the Kilifi Cashew Nuts Factory which had been sold to a private investor.
“This is a serious matter that requires the attention of the Cabinet Secretary. It is the feeling of the Committee that the officers from AFA whom the CS had delegated the matter to, cannot comprehensively respond to the issues raised in the Motion adopted by the House and these Members’ supplementary questions,” Kajiado Central MP Memusi Kanchory said.
Further, the Committee sought to know the plans the ministry will put in place towards scaling up the cashew nuts industry, which it noted employs over 4,000 people directly and 50,000 people indirectly.
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Earlier, the legislators were denied access to the factory by the new management, claiming that they required adequate notice for the fact-finding mission.
However, the legislators said that the management had been notified a week earlier by the ministry officials of the intended visit.
“Session Chair, the current status of cashew nut farming in this region is a matter of concern for this region. A few years back, this used to be the lifeline of this region, but has faced farmer apathy due to low prices. It is unfortunate that the CS did not honor our invite to address this crucial subsector,” she observed.
Pressure Over the Resignation of Linturi
At the same time, pressure is piling on the CS to resign over how he handled the distribution of subsidized fertilizer across the country.
A motion supporting the impeachment of Linturi, presented by Bumuloa MP Jack Wamboka Wanami, has garnered signatures from at least 110 members of the National Assembly.
“The CS must be impeached to restore sanity in the ministry and fast-track farmers compensation. The impeachment will cushion farmers from unscrupulous fertilizer business deals,”
“The motion is rooted in grave allegations of gross misconduct, violation of constitutional provisions and serious breach of public trust. The evidence presented before the assembly paints a distressing picture of negligence, mismanagement and potential of criminal activities within the ministry,” he said.
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