New bill proposes Sh1m fine for ndengu large scale traders

Kenyans processing, marketing and trading green grams, or mung beans — also locally known as ndengu on a large scale— without a permit, could soon face penalties of up to Sh1 million or a jail term of two years, or both. This is according to the Mung Beans Bill 2022, currently before the Senate.

The Bill, introduced by Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, proposes strict measures for those processing, and marketing mung beans. Only licensed individuals will be permitted to participate in large-scale mung bean production.

“A person shall not market, process, or carry out large-scale trading in mung beans or mung bean products unless the person has obtained a licence from the relevant county government. A person who contravenes these provisions commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both,” reads the Bill.

Senator Wambua says the primary objective of the Bill is to develop, regulate, and promote the mung bean sector in Kenya. He argues that it encourages the use of mung beans as a food security item by the national and county governments in their various feeding policies and programmes.

“It provides for the support of farmers of mung beans in each county in the production and marketing of their produce. The Bill also provides for the regulation of the production and sale of mung bean products by county governments and the Agriculture and Food Authority,” Wambua says.

Licencing committee

In the Bill, Wambua has proposed that licencing be done by the relevant county government which will establish a licensing committee to oversee the process.

The committee, according to the Bill, will consist of a chairperson, a representative of mung bean farmers, and three public officers from the agriculture department with relevant experience.

Appointed members will serve for a term of three years, with the possibility of one renewal.

“The chairperson and members shall be competitively recruited by the county public service board and appointed by the county executive committee member. A person shall be qualified for appointment as a member of the county licensing committee, if that person holds a degree from a university recognised in Kenya, has at least five years’ experience in the agricultural sector and meets the requirements of Chapter Six of the Constitution,” says the Bill.

Any individual intending to market, process or engage in large-scale trading of mung beans must apply for a licence through the county licensing committee. Upon approval, the licence will detail the grower's name, the location and size of their land, the parcel number, and the variety of mung beans grown.

“Every grower shall register with the relevant county executive committee member. Each county executive committee member shall maintain a register of all mung bean growers registered in the respective county,” the Bill says.

The county licencing committee will then notify an applicant of the decision on an application for a licence within 21 days.

The Bill also notes that licences can be denied if an applicant provides false or misleading information, fails to meet the Act's requirements, or does not comply with relevant county legislation.

A farmer’s licence might be cancelled if the holder is in breach of the provisions of the Act or any other relevant national or county legislation. However, the committee must provide the licence holder with at least 14 days' notice of the intention to cancel and offer him or her an opportunity to be heard.

If a person is aggrieved by the decision to cancel a licence, the Bill stipulates that they may appeal to the county executive committee member within 30 days of being notified. The committee will then determine the application within 60 days, with the power to confirm, vary, or reverse the licensing committee's decision

Further appeals can be made to the High Court within 30 days if the aggrieved party is dissatisfied with the decision of the county executive committee member.

Once enacted, the Bill will empower the Cabinet secretary responsible for agriculture to create regulations to enforce its provisions.

“The Bill delegates limited and conditional legislative powers and does not limit fundamental rights and freedoms.”

(This story has been amended to read: Kenyans processing, marketing, and trading green grammes, commonly known as ndengu, on a massive scale—without a permit, as opposed to the former statement that claimed Kenyans involved in the cultivation of ndengu would be penalised.)