The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Holdings Limited has announced the immediate suspension of all staff travel, off-site meetings, and training activities across its subsidiaries in a move aimed at tightening governance, compliance, and cost management within the Group.
In an internal memo seen by Radio Generation, Group Chief Executive Officer Wilson Muthaura directed all general managers, subsidiary heads, and department heads to enforce the directive without delay.
“The Holdings Board has directed immediate cessation of all staff travel, off-site meetings, and training activities across all subsidiaries. This measure supports the Group’s ongoing governance, compliance, and cost-management priorities,” the memo reads in part.
Under the new directive, all staff travel—both domestic and international—for business purposes has been suspended until further notice.
Any travel will now require explicit prior written authorization from the Holdings Board through the Group CEO.
Additionally, all external meetings, including those held at hotels or tea factory locations, have been prohibited unless expressly approved in writing by the Board and recommended by the CEO.
The memo further halts all planned, ongoing, or upcoming training activities, including those conducted within tea factory premises, unless specifically cleared by the Group CEO.
“This directive applies to all employees across all functions and levels,” the communication emphasized, adding that exceptions will only be made for roles deemed operationally critical and pre-approved in writing by the Group CEO.
Muthaura instructed all managers to communicate and implement the directive immediately, stressing the importance of full compliance within their respective business units.
The decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of financial management practices within KTDA-managed tea factories, following recent directives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development calling for an audit of factory loans and related financial operations.
KTDA Holdings oversees 71 tea factories across the country on behalf of over 600,000 smallholder tea farmers.
The suspension of travel and training activities is expected to streamline operations as the organization undertakes internal reviews and cost-control measures.
