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{
    "id": 1083631,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1083631/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 336,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Saku, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ali Rasso",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13473,
        "legal_name": "Dido Ali Raso",
        "slug": "dido-ali-raso"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. In almost a circumference of 30 metres, I am the only person, but thank you, Hon. Member. There is an attempt to almost make it feel that this is a western Kenya affair or a sugar growing belt affair, but I am speaking as a Kenyan who consumes sugar. People in northern Kenya consume more sugar than people in western Kenya. We take it with tea and with many other beverages that we use. We also take more tea than any other region in this country. That is why we feel that protecting and making this industry robust and viable to the Kenyan population is very important. When you watch news and follow the media, you realise that wherever this issue comes up, it is made to appear like people are fighting over who should be the manager of a particular sugar factory, who should sell what or who should do what. We must move up the scale. This Bill will allow us to do that in terms of putting in place watertight regulations, so that people do not abuse the portfolios they are given and then walk away scot-free. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, one thing that we, as Hon. Members, must also start thinking about with regard to the sugar industry in Kenya is why we import sugar from Brazil. Why should sugar produced in Brazil be much cheaper than sugar from Mumias? It is a question that begs answers. It is a question that we must begin to reflect on with a view to finding ways of producing this commodity cheaply. How should it be cheaper? As Hon. Osotsi said, if we must inject Kshs5 billion into this sector, we had better do so. If sugarcane is the best crop to grow within the sugar belt - if the climate is good and there is enough water - why would people choose to grow maize instead of sugarcane? Why would farmers feel that sugarcane growing is no longer viable? As a country and as legislators, we must call upon the Government to disabuse the notion that western Kenya politicians should be the ones to manage this industry because the western Kenya sugarcane growing belt is a central nexus in the Kenyan sugar industry. I believe Kenyans working in that industry pay taxes. It is called “industry” because many people benefit from it. If you are a truck driver, if you sell fuel, if you pack the sugar at the factor or you sell packages there, you benefit. There are many moving wheels around that thing called “industry.” For that reason, I believe a policy must be put in place. Just like we protect coffee, tea and pyrethrum growing, we must also protect the sugarcane growing areas. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we used to be told that there are a number of months during which the sugar industries are closed. During that time, no sugar production takes place locally and, therefore, people must import the commodity. The Bill that we were discussing before was about reproductive health where we use technology. In the sugar industry, more than anything, it is high time we used technology more rapidly, efficiently and productively. Finally, sugar is sweet. Hon. Wamunyinyi should not believe that just because he is a grower, he can benefit from it. The middlemen make more money than the grower himself. We must turn the wheel around to let the grower and those in the production chain benefit more than those who sell the product at the tail-end or brokers who work with individuals to manipulate the industry. 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."
}