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{
    "id": 1012712,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1012712/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 391,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Narok North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Richard ole Kenta",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 420,
        "legal_name": "Richard Moitalel ole Kenta",
        "slug": "richard-moitalel-ole-kenta"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Members who have spoken and supported the Motion. Some things which are already in the Report have come out, like the zoning issue that Hon. Wangwe has raised. That is a very pertinent issue. What has been happening is that you confine farmers to a particular area, but they are not paid. They say that it is not viable. They want to be able to sell their produce to whoever is going to give them the highest price. Zoning will be a big issue. As everybody said, our people have become poor. I can assure you as a House that we shall not retreat on this matter because a lot is at stake. The lives of our people are at stake. When somebody says that the cost of production is too high, why is it not too high in Uganda? Why is it not too high in Sudan? Why is it not too high in other countries that are not even better equipped than ours? It is because we are intentionally killing the sugar industry. Hon. Ruweida has raised a very pertinent issue about the Coast. I would like to assure her that in our Report, we have talked about the Kwale International Sugar Company at the Coast. Most of the employees there are from Western Kenya. As you have said, and I agree with you, any Kenyan can get employment where there is a sugar company. That is something we must do. The other good thing about sugar production at the Coast is that sugar-cane there matures at half the time that the one in western Kenya matures. This is something that we must all come together and support. I will call upon Members from the sugar-cane growing areas: Let us, kind of, create a caucus to follow this up. If we are going to wait for the so-called taskforce or the so-called works- -- Without the input of the representative of the people, I can assure you that it will never happen. This is because those are still the beneficiaries of those corrupt parties. They are the ones who are eying the land and trying to make sure that our people are poor. Unless the people, through the Members that they elect to Parliament come together and say: “Enough is enough, let us call back our rights. This thing can be done and we have seen it,” we will go nowhere. I would like to thank the Office of the Speaker, the Office of the Clerk, my staff and the Members because they facilitated this Report. I can tell you that this Report has a lot of goodwill from all over the place. I think it is goodwill that we must ride on and ensure that all this is adopted. Even though our role is actually to report on the implementation status, I think as you have said, we can go beyond that and ensure that we follow up. But we can only do so with the assistance of the Committee concerned. There are some regulations and laws that we are supposed to pass to enable those farmers to get the fruits of their labour. I would like to thank all the Members and I beg to reply. Thank you so much."
}