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{
    "id": 1042339,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1042339/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 119,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kang’ata",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1826,
        "legal_name": "Irungu Kang'ata",
        "slug": "irungu-kangata"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Bill addresses several problems which tea farmers have been experiencing. The first one is the over taxation of the tea farmer. The tea farmer, currently, pays almost 41 or 42 different types of taxes. Secondly is the cess that is collected by the counties. Various counties from the regions where farmers grow tea have been taking tea cess. Instead of reinvesting that money to build good roads in tea growing areas, they have been expending that money with other works and making roads in the tea growing areas to become deplorable and neglected. Therefore, this Bill is going to address that problem. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the third issue is the Tea Board. Few years ago, we created a body called AFA. It collapsed several parastatals into one entity called AFA. However, now we are creating the Tea Board to specifically deal with issues of tea. The fourth is the issue of auction. We have had a situation where we have one auction at Mombasa, but a parallel market has been created outside that auction. That problem is going to be remedied by compelling all tea to be sold through the auction. That parallel market of tea has made prices at the tea auction to become depressed because buyers are not going into the auction. They are preferring what we call private treaties. As a result, the Government has been losing taxes. Those transactions, the so- called direct sales are opaque. We do not know how much they fetch for KTDA. Therefore, let us take all tea to the auction. The auction is going to become more vibrant and create more employment. It is going to ensure the market is open and transparent. Mr. Speaker, Sir, finally is the issue of the payment period. This Bill once passed is going to compel farmers to be paid within 14 days from the date when the auction deal was finalized. Currently, it takes so many days notwithstanding an auction deal has been finalized."
}