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{
    "id": 1218446,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1218446/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 254,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Joe Nyutu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "When we talk about benefits sharing and I am glad that Sen. Mungatana has brought this Bill, recently, we went to South Sudan for East African games and got to understand that in that country no foreigner will be allowed to own a company that does not have a local shareholding. Although there are many things that we may not like about Southern Sudan, especially their voodoo law, where it is their word against yours if you are a foreigner, I think this is something that we can borrow. Those big companies like Kakuzi and Del Monte that operate tea farms in Kericho and other counties should cede some shares to the locals and county government, so that they can also benefit from these vast natural resources. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, that is something that we should consider; that any foreign investor, though they hide under the excuse that they are creating employment, yes, which they do; but their benefits far much outweigh the exploitation that they do to our people. Therefore, these benefits sharing should be something that we should institutionalize and legislate on, so that these companies stop exploiting our people. The other thing while talking about Kakuzi is that in my county, I have two big investors. We have Del Monte and Kakuzi. I may not have very many problems with the Del Monte because most of the land that they have is under use and they are employing very many people. Also, Del Monte recently ceded some land to our county. My major fight is with Kakuzi because they have large tracts of land which remain unutilized. Another issue is hostility to the locals. There is one particular society that was called Mwambo Farmers’ Society, a group of poor people that had some land somewhere in the middle of the farms that are owned by Kakuzi and who were forced to move to a place called Thangira. The agreement back then in 1988 was that they be compensated for the school that they had built, the cattle dip, churches and those public amenities and facilities, which Kakuzi has never done, and Kakuzi should be compelled to do. This compensation should be made in net present value. This is because in 1988 the value of Kshs1 million was much higher. That is why the people of Mwambo and Thangira should be compensated using the net present value or the present value of money as of today because that is an injustice. We have pupils. Currently, you know that in our schools in every other county or part of the country, we have problems with infrastructure because of junior secondary school that have been domiciled in primary schools. We would need this money so that the amount that was supposed to be paid to Thangira Primary School by Kakuzi may be utilized to put up the necessary infrastructure in that particular school. We have Anjiro Farmers’ Cooperative also neighbouring Kakuzi where these historical injustices have been visited on our people. Therefore, I stand to support that the benefits accruing from exploitation of natural resources in our counties should be shared with the locals. With those very many remarks, and I have nothing against the Kakuzi. I beg to support that Bill; that natural resources should be shared. I am also preparing to bring a Motion or a Bill here about Nairobi Water Company, which gets water from Ndakaini Dam in Murang’a County for free, but they"
}