The giant Trans Nzoia Teachers Enterprise (TENT) once described as the proud of the teaching fraternity in county is treading on dangerous grounds of total collapse at least after changing the shareholding to non-teachers.
Started in the early 1980s, TENT with a status of a limited company with assets and property spread in Trans Nzoia and within Kitale Municipality sold off a big chunk of shares to an Eldoret-based entrepreneur, leaving the minority to retired teachers who are the current managers.
According to the chairman of the retired teachers J. Natwati, the company is set to dissolve completely after disposing off of the remaining assets in a public purchase.
TENT is among the teachers’ organizations in Trans Nzoia undergoing structural changes owing to either to economic hardship and poor financial management, leading to mass withdrawals and remittances of shares by members.
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The Trans Nzoia Teachers Consumers Society (TTCS) is one of the sister organizations whose prime objective was to distribute farm inputs to members at subsidized prices to improve their live-hoods and supplement on their merger salaries.
The company which owns several commercial buildings in Kitale town has in the recent years diverted from the core duties following the dwindling numbers of members, leaving it to rely on rent as the main source of income. The society has also been bedeviled with leadership disputes.
Problems for TENT and TTCS started with the incumbent office bearers overstaying beyond their tenure limits thus forcing members to transfer to alternative national savings and credit Saccos such as the giant Mwalimu sacco.
A big number of secondary teachers have subscribed to Mwalimu Sacco as opposed to the county-based entities with teacher allegiance.
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Another entity the Teachers Housing Co-operative Union was dogged with accusations of favoritism of plots allocations which saw pioneers and founders being kicked out office for the irregularities.
Currently, some of the beneficiaries of the plot have difficulties acquiring title deeds due to the huge pending land rates levied by the County government. The former company directors delayed in the processing of the titles resulting in the enormous penalties.
The more than 5,000 teachers both from primary and secondary schools are allied to more than one micro-finance organizations which has led to stiff competition, forcing some of them to either opt out or reduce their monthly savings.
The same competition is being witnessed by the trade movements of KUPPET and KNUT where each side is struggling to convince the JS teachers to register with their respective bodies.
The competition saw a large number of women teachers pull out of TTCS to form their own company that invested into table- banking and other activities such land-buying and micro-enterprises.
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The Burial and Benevolent Fund is another entity being manned by teachers mostly from Kiminini and Saboti Sub-counties out of the five Sub-counties in the area. But due the persistent power struggles of controlling the voluntary funds, the group has failed to attract new members after its treasurer George Nabibia was allegedly sued in court for abuse of office.
Perhaps a word of praise could be said of the Trans National Times Sacco formerly known as Trans Nzoia Teachers Sacco after opening membership to non-teachers and starting of the cash deposits and withdraws services.
According to its new policies, society had opened satellite branches in Kiminini, Kachibora and Endebess Sub-branches in a move to take services to members whose operations are rural-based.
Towards this, the society has not only relied on teachers from Trans Nzoia county alone but from the other neighboring and distant counties. This also applies for non-resident teachers who may want to subscribe with us.
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One reason that demoralized teachers is the administration in the organization that seem to have been dominated by officials from one ethnic group but for the mandatory KUPPET and KNUT trade movements, the interest of the minority communities have been catered for.
Except for the KESSHA where principals have cast doubt over the capability and and impartiality of the incumbent officials led by the chair Bernard Masinde, the KNUT has braved on well with the inclusion officials from across the board.
And even as they go for the AGM next February, the KNUT members are pretty sure of invigorating representatives from the resident communities reminiscent of the Kenya Kwanza broad-based government.
Only recently, principals were at war with the KESSHA leadership over the transfer of the association’s post of treasure from Kwanza Sub-county to Saboti during their AGM in Kisumu where the TSC director Solomon Leseewe was the presiding officer.
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Another accusation was lumped at the KESSHA of not speaking against the Ksh 100 fee for activity fee charged per student. They were also up in arms for principals and heads of primary schools being charged Ksh 7500 for the training conducted by KEMI in the county two weeks ago.
But what could be behind the drop of the teachers’ organization for the activities?
According to retired head teacher Paul Situma, lack of confidence of members in their elected officials, missing of prudent financial management, ethnicity and doubling of functions of societies.
Situma says for the organizations to be able to come back to their feet they must embrace on exclusivity of all stakeholders in the economy
BY ABISAI AMUGUNE
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