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{
    "id": 1217590,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1217590/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 130,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Appropriations Committee, our focus has primarily been on production even as we table the Bill that we will debate today. We are focusing on primary production which deals with raw materials. That is why we have allocated a lot of resources and given a lot of weight to production based in agriculture. I request Members to contribute to this issue in a robust manner. We sometimes confuse agriculture with farming. In the agricultural value chain, farming accounts for just around 20 to 25 per cent. We sometimes confuse the activities that farmers do in their farms with agriculture. That is just one segment within the agriculture value chain, which is purely farming. There are other processes within the agricultural value chain. Warehousing, transportation, branding and blending are all part of agriculture. Therefore, our focus is on the entire value chain so that we have as much value as possible being retained within the country. More value should be pushed in the direction of the farmer so that their sweat and hard work can be commensurate with the value they get out of farming, which is within the agricultural value chain. Secondly, our focus is on secondary production. Secondary production is with regard to adding value to whatever raw material we have. We can add value to the raw materials that we have and to the raw production we do. That is primarily manufacturing and it has various stages. However, we have looked at it as a block starting from very basic production which is secondary production to the highest level which is robust. Our focus is on the how and as we add value in terms of primary production, how much more value can we retain by also incorporating secondary production that is purely manufacturing in nature? The other one is tertiary which is with regard to the services around the first two that I gave. I wish to draw the attention of this House to the state of our economy currently. It operates in a such way that the main driver of our economy is the public sector - the Government. The other driver of our economy is the facilitative arm of the economy. If you look at the growth on fintech and service industry, we now have the productive side leapfrogging the facilitative side. We have very innovative people, mobile banking and very robust fintech products like M-Pesa. We also have a growing service sector in terms of insurance and banking. However, we have to be aware of the fact that the facilitative side of the economy should serve the productive side. There is a problem when we have the facilitative side of the economy growing faster than the real productive side. When I send money from my phone to the other person, I am not creating any value. The only thing the app does is to facilitate efficiency within the economy. Therefore, we need to also focus on the real production and that is what we have focused on in terms of agriculture and manufacturing and it is necessary so that the facilitative side can grow in tandem with the real productive side of the economy. With regard to that, what we did was look at the enablers. As we talk about production and adding value to our gross production, what are the enablers? That is the reason we were able to salvage Ksh10 billion from whatever area we could. That saving was then pushed into roads so that we can have the economy running smoothly. The essence of roads and infrastructure is not just for social travel, but the economy also runs on them. We put money into the roads because majority of what we carry from our farms and industries passes through them. It is for that reason that we unlocked Ksh12 billion from the Annuity Fund so that we can push the same resources into making sure that the contractors go back to site to finish our road projects. Hon. Speaker, this House exists as an arm of Government to primarily serve the needs of the Kenyan people. It is also for that reason that every other civil servant, from the highest to the lowest cadre, exist. We do not exist to serve the machinery of Government. The machinery of Government does not exist to self-serve, but to serve the needs of the Kenyan 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."
}