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{
    "id": 1052367,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1052367/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 56,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. David ole Sankok",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13166,
        "legal_name": "David Ole Sankok",
        "slug": "david-ole-sankok"
    },
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I do withdraw. In Kiswahili, they say “ mgala muue na haki mpe .” In terms of infrastructure, which is an enabling requirement for the economy, the Jubilee Government has done quite well in enabling this particular port to operate and in facilitating grain bulk handling. Once we have an enabling environment in terms of infrastructure like the SGR, roads and LAPSSET, our duty is to deal with policies. We are totally against the monopoly that is witnessed now. Monopoly is very dangerous in terms of pricing. When you do not have a competitor, you will price your goods and services the way you want. Sometimes a monopoly can create artificial shortage of grains in the country so as to increase prices. Monopoly is even open to abuse. It can be used as a biological warfare weapon. If the company that monopolises the grains business is used in a biological warfare, all of us may end up with serious illnesses. I also support the opening up of other ports like the Kisumu Port. Kisumu is blessed to have Lake Victoria, the largest fresh water lake in Africa. It is the biggest city in the Great Lakes region. Those countries will get good services if we make sure that Kisumu Port and other ports around Lake Victoria on our side are efficient so that all that is being transported to neighbouring countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi go through the ports. We must also make sure that the Lamu Port is operational so that once the LAPSSET project is finished, that corridor will not lie idle. Instead, it will handle enough grains to our neighbours like Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia. We appreciate the company has invested a lot and it has gone digital and mechanised, but we must have competition. We have been having monopoly in the production and distribution of electricity and that is why the price of power is very high and power cannot reach everybody. When Safaricom was the only telecommunications company monopolising the market, we used to pay Kshs56 to talk on the phone for a minute. We used to buy a sim card as if we were buying land. You had to give the name of your chief. The same service that Safaricom was charging Kshs56 per minute ten years ago is now being charged Kshs2 and yet the standard of living has gone up. So, what changed? This is as a result of competition through opening up the telecommunications industry. If we open up grain handling services to other players, I am 100 per cent sure the prices will come down. I support."
}