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{
    "id": 1083596,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1083596/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 301,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kanduyi, FORD-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Wafula Wamunyinyi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 291,
        "legal_name": "Athanas Misiko Wafula Wamunyinyi",
        "slug": "athanas-wamunyinyi"
    },
    "content": "agreements which are agreements negotiated between growers and millers, growers and out- growers, out-grower institutions and millers, and out-grower institutions. Clause 30 provides for the rights of growers. On the rights of growers and according to the proposals when I was drafting this Bill where the question of privatisation was on the table, we said that 51 per cent of the shareholding of all privatised sugar factories should go to the growers and 51 per cent of the representation in the board of directors to milling companies. Clause 31 establishes the Sugar Arbitration Tribunal comprising of a chairperson, qualified for appointment as a Judge of the High Court of Kenya, who shall be appointed by the Chief Justice and four members with expert knowledge of matters likely to come before the tribunal. Part VI provides for delegated powers. That is under Clause 33 which empowers the CS for Agriculture to make regulations for the effective operation of the Act. We already have regulations which have been published, but I am sure this will also have to be endorsed by the House when the Bill is assented to, to become an Act. Part VII is consequential amendments. Clause 34 amends the First Schedule of the Agriculture and Food Authority Act of 2013 to delete a reference to the Kenya Sugar Board as a repealed institution. Clause 35 amends the First Schedule of the Crops Act of 2013 to delete sugar as a crop whose breeding would require certification. Part VIII is on saving and transitional provisions. Clauses 36, 37 and 38 provide for the staff of the current Directorate of Agriculture and Food Authority to be the staff of the board. All property belonging to the sugar directorate shall also be transferred to the board, subject to interests, liabilities, charges and obligations. The First Schedule provides for provisions of vacation of office, quorum of meetings, disclosure of interests, the common seal, contracts and instruments of the board. The Second Schedule, Part One provides for guidelines for agreements between parties in the sugar industry such as the scope of the agreements and interpretation. Part Two of the Second Schedule provides for the roles of different institutions in the industry, namely, the board, the Sugar Research Foundation, out-grower institutions and the millers. Finally, the Third Schedule provides for provisions on meetings and procedures of the Sugar Tribunal. When we were in the process of working on this Bill, we looked exactly at what the board should do in addition to what I have said. We undertook a comparative study. I looked at the Brazilian sector and found that the sugarcane division has played a key role in the economic growth and development of the country. According to the Brazilian Bureau of Statistics, there had been tremendous growth of the sugarcane sector estimated at 10 per cent on average in 2017. Improvement in the sugar industry was largely due to the outstanding technological progress in the sugar sub-sector coupled with supportive Government policies. According to the United States Department for Agriculture, Brazil is the world’s leading producer and exporter of sugar. Approximately 22.5 per cent, about 40 million tonnes of sugar consumed globally, comes from Brazil. One of the key issues that I noted from Brazil’s case is that there are subsidies and scheduled tax regimes. In Brazil, sugar is not taxed at all and the revenue improvement from the by-products goes back to the industry to support farmers. South Africa has a Sugar Act like ours. It has the South African Sugar Association, an authority mandated to maintain a network of provisions designated to protect the domestic sugar industries against any others. It seeks to protect farmers and the industry in general. It is the highest decision making authority in the industry on common interest for sugarcane growers and sugar millers. The Government has over time invested The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}