HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, POST, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"count": 1608389,
"next": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=150551",
"previous": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=150549",
"results": [
{
"id": 1523692,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523692/?format=api",
"text_counter": 191,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Question proposed)"
},
{
"id": 1523693,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523693/?format=api",
"text_counter": 192,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Veronica Maina",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I will now call upon Sen. Danson Mungatana to contribute to this Motion."
},
{
"id": 1523694,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523694/?format=api",
"text_counter": 193,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I want to thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make comments on this Petition and Motion that is before the House. What this Petitioner, Mr. Rono Nicholas, is petitioning this Senate is a complaint of the failure by the Capital Markets Authority and Competition Authority of Kenya, on what their decisions or lack of it, are costing the people on the ground. I know what Mr. Rono is talking about. He has said there were 6,000 employees in the EABL. Now, it is a shell with only 600 employees or thereabouts. When I was very young, I grew up in Mombasa. One of the big companies in Mombasa and big employers was the Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL). When we were growing up, my father even left the Government to come and work in the medical department of the KBL. Consequently, I know when I say that KBL was a big employer and a beacon of light in the economy of Mombasa. It is true, like what this Petition says, that it owned real estates and a lot property. In fact, senior employees were carried by vehicles to work and people used to live in big estates. It was a happy time. Thereafter, restructuring started to happen. By then, our The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1523695,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523695/?format=api",
"text_counter": 194,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "parents had already retired. Nevertheless, when you look at it, pain has been caused to many people there. People who were earning good money and in very stable economic environment, all of a sudden, have nothing. There is no prospect of going to get even half the salaries from any other opportunities that may exist in Mombasa. Madam Temporary Speaker, there were buses and bottling companies that used to come and go to the East African Plant. There were repair people and those who used to sell fuel and diesel to keep the company. The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) used to earn a living plus all the fees we got from that company. When I became a little older and visited that place, which was bustling with life, I was shocked to find out that it is completely dead with old dilapidated buildings. Many of us who grew up knowing Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), it had a very strong football team in the entire Mombasa Town. Therefore, this is a failure on the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). I hope that the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry is listening where he is, that the people there make approval of transfer of shares and that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) does not go down to where these companies are. They just approve purchase of shares and then people lose jobs. Those who are trading with KBL lost their jobs. The business people who were sustaining life and limb lost all those business opportunities. The CMA sitting in Nairobi just to approve the transfer of shares without moving to where these companies were producing or the principle of public participation. I entirely agree that we need to look at this law again. My colleague has mentioned that the economies within East Africa have regulations on how people from outside can buy shares into companies in this country. Even if the owners of those companies are making money, how can it be that because of your greed, you sell a company and then 6,000 people become unemployed? The CMA sitting in Nairobi does not bother to go to Mombasa or Nairobi to see what is happening. They look at papers and approve to let Diageo buy the company, and then people become jobless. It is heartless. This Petition by Mr. Nicholas Rono should trigger something within the soul of Kenya; that it is not just about making money even for the people who start companies. The employees must be protected and people trading with those companies must be protected, especially when these companies become very big. I agree that we need to look afresh at the CMA. The CEO and the people who approved the killing of industry within Kenya by looking at papers and approving shares in Nairobi, shame on you for creating poverty amongst families as people become millionaires and take golden parachutes and go home. Madam Temporary Speaker, I firmly agree that we need to look at the Capital Markets Authority Act and act on it. We need to protect the small people who are making a living out of these companies that are traded, shares are changed and then effectively companies are killed. Another major recommendation is about the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK). I have had the fortune of serving at the Regional Authority on competition matters. I have served as a Commissioner for six years in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Competition Commission. This is the equivalent of the CAK at the regional level. I am shocked that the CAK has received The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1523696,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523696/?format=api",
"text_counter": 195,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "complaints on abuse of dominant position in the market and they have done nothing. According to this Report, the CAK has received reports of abuse of dominant position by the EABL and yet they have done nothing about it. Madam Temporary Speaker, how can it be that a market player in Kenya today can abuse its dominant authority and position within the market against the Competition Authority of Kenya Act and then nothing happens? The Petitioner, Mr. Rono, is saying that something is seriously very wrong even in the CAK. Abuse of dominant position in simple terms means that you have a controlling or substantive share of the market within a country or region, and then you use your position to exercise your power and promote anti-competitive behaviour within the market. What does that mean? Since you have the dominant position, you go and force people to buy only your products and not another product, so that distributors are tied up. This is called tying up agreements. Sometimes, you abuse your dominant position by knowing that you have the money, the market share and the dominant position within the market share of the country or region. Then, what do you do? You kill competition by doing something called predatory pricing. You underprice not because of anything good or you want to help the market grow, but so that you can kill any competition. Madam Temporary Speaker, in this Petition, the East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has been accused of abusing their dominant position. They have underpriced, done tying agreements to make distributors only sell what they want and done criminal activities in the market in Kenya today, yet the CAK is seated there. In this recommendation in part (d), they are saying- “The Competition Authority of Kenya within six months of the tabling of this report, submit a report to the Senate on the reported cases of abuse of dominance from 2023 to 2024 and the respective measures and decisions taken by the Authority to resolve those cases.” What is the petitioner, Mr. Rono, saying? He is saying that the CAK is not doing its job. It is sleeping on its job that a petitioner has to come to the Standing Committee on Trade, Industrialization and Tourism of the Senate to make the CAK do its job. I hope that the CEO is listening to me. If you are not listening to me, wake up. I hope the Principal Secretary will come and talk to you. You need to wake up. A Kenyan does not need to come to the Senate to make you do your work. What does it mean? It means these people have complained to the Authority, but they have done nothing. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Petition and the recommendation of the Senate is an indictment on the CMA and its operations. How can you kill the local industry and feel nothing about it? It is an indictment on the CAK and you are given six months to report. Abuse of dominant position is happening in Kenya and you are doing nothing; that a petitioner has to move the Senate for you to do anything. I would have gone further in my recommendation that the CEO of the CMA and CAK plus their boards must be investigated. The Cabinet Secretary listening to me today, can you do something about the board? I know that the CAK and CMA have boards. If the Government of Kenya has shares and directors there, the boards must be reconstituted. A petitioner cannot come to the Senate to make you do your work. It means The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1523697,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523697/?format=api",
"text_counter": 196,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "you do not want to do the work or are in compromised positions. It is a shame. In real terms, we are talking about 6,000 people that have been sent home, when they should not. If someone had sat down to say, \"Wait a minute, what does the transfer of these shares mean?\" The worst thing is that they are transferring these shares to a company that is not Kenyan - an expatriate company. The brewery company that is taking over all these shares is a South African company. We are not saying we cannot trade, but you cannot acquire majority shares, then you start making decisions that are killing the economy of Kenya; decisions that are having such a negative impact on our people and the economy of this country. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is just there, seated, proceeding to approve. The Competition Authority of Kenya is just there, seated, not taking action against the abuse of the dominant position. I pray that this Report will be implemented in the letter and that action will be taken. I pray that in furtherance of this Report, the Cabinet Secretary, the Principal Secretary, and those in the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industrialisation will be required to take action to protect our people. You know, someone is just sitting, looking at their company. They have seen they are making money, their sales are doing well, and then they see they are being told to go home. This is just terrible. The accountant and the small-time management of these companies cannot explain why they are making so much money, and then they are told to go home because the company is being closed. We need to take these authorities, who have been given the mandate to help create jobs and manage the economy, to task. These people must be punished. This Report goes on to say that the Competition Authority of Kenya should enforce the pecuniary penalty outlined under Section 24(3) of the Competition Act 2010 of Kenya. How can it be that the Senate must sit to tell you what punishment you must execute against those who are creating trouble within the market in Kenya? This is terrible. I was putting this thing in perspective so that people could see that these guys were sleeping on their jobs, and the Cabinet Secretary should wake up and bring disciplinary action against the board of the Competition Authority and the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya. These people are not protecting Kenyans; they are just called the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya, and they are not protecting Kenya. Competition Authority of Kenya and you are not protecting Kenyans! People are suffering here. Those small people cannot understand that it is the approvals of the transfer of shares and things they cannot even fathom. They only know that they are being paid Kshs50,000, Kshs30,000 or Kshs100,000 and taking care of their families. Madam Temporary Speaker, let us be patriotic about our country, grow this economy, and not put people in charge of the Capital Markets Authority who are killing economies. Why should you approve the selling of shares just to kill people's jobs? Why can you not be conscientious enough to visit and see what it means? Why can you not engage in public participation so that people can see that you are listening to them and that you hear them from the ground and not just the owners of the company? After all, the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1523698,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523698/?format=api",
"text_counter": 197,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "company is not just the owners. It is not just the directors. There are workers and management involved. Why did the Capital Markets Authority not make it its business to go down before approving these transfers of shares? Why did it not just go down to see who would be affected? Why did it not do public participation? The recommendations here are strong. I hope that the Committee will take time to bring the necessary amendments to the Capital Markets Authority Act and the regulations so that at least one requirement will be met. The board must visit to see what the impact of their action is when they approve this. How many Kenyans are going to lose their jobs? What guarantees are being given to those who are working in case there is a change of ownership? Why should we make people suffer so much? I pray that this Committee will take serious follow-up action on this matter. I pray that this Committee will even write to the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary to take follow-up action on these two institutions; the Capital Markets Authority and the Competition Authority of Kenya, so that they can start being sensitive to what Kenyans are suffering. With those many remarks, I thank the Committee on Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism for taking the time to listen to Mr. Rono's petition. I congratulate Mr. Nicholas Rono, who has taken his time to bring to the minds of Kenya what is happening inside the markets in this country, the dirt that is going on, and the oppression of the common people who are doing these jobs in these companies around Kenya. I support this Report of the Committee."
},
{
"id": 1523699,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523699/?format=api",
"text_counter": 198,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Veronica Maina",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you. Sen. Mungatana. I see there are no other Senators who intend to contribute to this Motion. So, I will call upon the Mover of this Motion, Sen. Okenyuri, to reply."
},
{
"id": 1523700,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523700/?format=api",
"text_counter": 199,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Okenyuri",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. First of all, I want to thank Sen. Cherargei, who seconded this Motion. He insightfully discussed the major recommendations proposed by Members of this Committee. He surely has grasped the issues that the petitioner, Mr. Nicholas Rono, was raising. I also want to thank Sen. Mungatana, the Tana River Senator, who has passionately spoken about the situation as it is. You can see the man-eat-man society we are in. In Swahili, if I say it, Shamba La Wanyama is well displayed by the contributions of the Tana River Senator. I want to thank the Members of the Committee led by the outgoing Chairperson, Sen. Seki, who led this Committee in investigating and listening to submissions by the different stakeholders who were captured in this Petition. I want to thank them especially for taking their time and considering how lengthy and weighty this matter was. I just wanted to add a few comments. From the recommendations, you see that it is six months long, and I am still a Member of that Committee and Vice Chairperson. I want to commit that as a Vice Chairperson of this Committee led by the Chair, we are surely going to ensure that we follow up for six months. Even before the six months, we want to follow up so that we know if whatever proposals we made are being The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1523701,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523701/?format=api",
"text_counter": 200,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Okenyuri",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "looked at. We do not want majority companies to suppress small shareholders and big companies to suppress small shareholders in those companies. Allow me at this point; I just want to beg you to reply. Pursuant to Standing Order No. 66(3). I request that putting of the question be deferred to another day. Thank you."
}
]
}