This archive report was first published on 10 July 2020.
On July 10, 2020, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya expressed disagreement with the Capital Markets Authority's (CMA) recent decision to extend coffee traders' licenses, citing lack of legal backing.
Munya, who oversees the coffee sector, argued that only his office has the power to oversee operations in the sector.
As a result, Munya gazetted an extension of coffee traders' licenses by a year and the Nairobi Coffee Exchange management committee's tenure by three more months.
The dispute between the Ministry of Agriculture and a section of coffee farmers, on one hand, and the CMA, centers around the Capital Markets (Coffee Exchange) Regulations, 2020.
The regulations, which were set to take effect this month, give the CMA the mandate to license coffee exchanges and brokers.
Acting CMA Chief Executive Wyckliffe Shamiah attributed delays in setting up a Direct Settlement System to process payments to the postponement of implementing the new coffee regulations.
