Govt to hand over 184 to Kilolo tea plantations

The Government has agreed to hand over the residents of Kidabaga in Kilolo District some 184 hectares of tea plantation that were formerly owned by the national Tea Authority.

The government has also handed over to the residents the authority`s various buildings and the factory which was processing tea from the plantations.

The hand over announcement was made by the Kilolo Member of Parliament, Prof. Peter Msolla, when he was addressing the residents at Iula Mwaya Village in the district.

Prof. Peter Msolla, who is also the Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, told the villagers that the handing over of the plantations and the buildings would take place soon.

He said the aim of the government in handing over the farms was to create a conducive atmosphere for the new investors who had agreed to develop the farms and build a tea processing factory at the area.

According to Prof. Msolla, an English Company, Caf頄irect, has agreed to develop the farms with the aim of handing them back to the people.

The company has also agreed to build a tea factory at the area which will be buying tea from the villagers.

`The factory will be able to employ 10,000 workers, which is not a small number, and so help in the alleviation of poverty in the area,` he said.

He said that another company has agreed to send tea processing machinery to Dabaga, in Kilolo District, but it was not prepared to build a factory.