Nipate
Forum => Kenya Discussion => Topic started by: Omollo on December 21, 2014, 05:18:30 PM
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As the country is bleeding from terrorism, The Kenya Police have time to arrest traders for using bags bigger than the Agriculture Mandarins allow. I thought the government had long decided to liberalize business? Why on earth should the state tell farmers and traders how to market and sell produce? Even more baffling, why on earth in this day and age, must the police get involved? Do they have that much time? In decent countries, the police have a priority list and such cases would never make it to that list.
SIX people have been arrested for transporting the produce in bags larger than the permitted 50kg.
The six were arrested at Engineer trading centre, transporting potatoes in 150kg bags yesterday.
Nyandarua Agriculture executive Agatha Thuo said the bags were in three different lorries.
The transporters were arrested by police and Agriculture ministry officials.
“We were alerted by farmers that the three had been purchasing the produce in extended bags contrary to the law. That is why we laid an ambush and arrested the three traders,” Thuo said.
If found guilty, they can be fined up to Sh500,000 or be jailed for one year.
Thuo said the law must be enforced to the letter.
She said the 50kg bags will save farmers millions of shillings that they lose to middlemen who buy the produce in extended bags only to convert it to 110kg bags.
“This is good news to our farmers as they will now be reaping from their hard work,” Thuo said.
She said the county government will collaborate with security officers to ensure this is achieved.
- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/traders-held-oversize-potato-bags#sthash.sHeJ9pUU.dpuf
(http://www.the-star.co.ke/sites/default/files/styles/node_article/public/images/articles/2014/12/20/200432/5.png)
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Priorities upside down. Nkt!