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{
    "id": 1158370,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1158370/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 228,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Motion which is quite timely on the current crisis that we have in this country. I was listening earlier to the Senate Minority Leader equating this House to Bunge Mtaani, where people sit down and lament. I feel that, that is exactly what we are doing. We have a crisis in this country, and earlier on, the Principal Secretary (PS) in charge of Petroleum and Mining equated this to a run on the bank, where when the financial institution sends out an alert that they are running out of cash, all customers run to be able to withdraw money. Yes, we have a problem and it is not just in fuel sector. It is also affecting the cement industry. Right now, a bag of cement is retailing at almost Kshs900 here in Nairobi. In places like Narok it is retailing at almost Kshs1,000 because we have a big problem when it comes to the issue of the clinker and the importation. These are things that the Government ought to sit down and try to put in order. We have a problem with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), where they say that their subsidies have not been paid to them. They then send out an alert, and then, Kenyans out of panic, rush out to the petrol stations to buy all the fuel they can. If that continues, of course, we will not be able to control this. I call upon the Ministry in charge of Petroleum and Mining to take a soberer approach in trying to figure out how to deal with this. I am beginning to wonder what sort of management training most officers in this country go through. We have the same problems in county governments where once people deduct the statutory deductions, they do not remit them where they are supposed to remit them. You ask yourself why you are deducting in the first place if you do not pay Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Instead of the KRA solving the problem of the importation of the clinker at the Port, Kenyans are suffering. In this country, we are hit with a crisis on an annual basis. We talk about the issue of Covid-19 destroying many businesses. We talk about the problem of construction when we are talking about building the industries in this country or investing in the manufacturing sector. Now, cement manufacturers are paying through the noses to import the clinker, which ordinarily, they would get cheaper and pass through the port of entry without any problem. Madam Temporary Speaker, I would request you add me two more minutes."
}