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{
    "id": 1034061,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1034061/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 285,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tigania West, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Mutunga",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13495,
        "legal_name": "John Kanyuithia Mutunga",
        "slug": "john-kanyuithia-mutunga"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I had not spoken on this report and I would like to make a few points. Thank you for the opportunity. In my considered opinion, it was not right for the government to give a directive on what container goods should be carried by what means, because we live under the perfect-competition world and therefore we should allow perfect completion to take place. The essence of SGR was to increase the through put of containerized goods. We also need to look at what container goods we are transporting in this country. If you look at what we do and what we produce in this country, we have not reached a level where we can sell a lot out there. So the actual question of investment in SGR comes into play. We needed to have improved our economy, our manufacturing capacity and our production of agricultural commodities and opened up the markets we lost long ago so that we could save a lot. We should not have a one-sided type of transport. That is why you see such decisions being made. The reason that was given of containment of Covid-19 is not valid. At the end of the day, even if we offload these containers at the inland depot, still truck drivers will have to collect them. The SGR has no capacity to deliver the containers to the user points. The directive also contravened the competition law. It was against the perfect competition principle. The report alludes to the fact that the Ministry did rescind this particular decision and therefore considered that it was necessary to allow perfect competition, which is the model that we prefer. The mode of transport should be left to the shipment companies and those who are exporting goods to decide. They should know which mode of transport is cheap and most efficient to them, and not to be guided by directives from whatever source. The prioritisation of the SGR should have been debated by Kenyans. We know that the Konza City is one of the priority projects of the Vision 2030, but up to now we have not been able to do a lot because we do not have money to invest. As we expand the SGR, we need to consider what exactly we are using it for. Those who transport goods should be allowed to decide what mode of transport to use. Therefore, I support the conclusion of this report, which eludes to the fact that fairness and unimpaired choices to use of transport should be allowed. We should allow the shippers to decide which mode to use. We should allow the on-land transporting companies to compete perfecting without appearing to prefer SGR because it is a government investment. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support."
}