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{
    "id": 1219355,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1219355/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 221,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Gatundu South, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. GG Kagombe",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker for this opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion that has been brought forward by Hon. Beatrice Elachi. At the outset, I want to say that I support this Motion. As my colleague said, it should even be pushed forward to a Bill, so that we legislate it. I note with concern that in the just ended calendar year, we finished the year at a deficit balance of payment amounting to a whopping USD948 million. Our balance of trade was standing at negative USD5.4 billion. This is way down from a positive USD1.4 billion in 1994. This tells you that we are increasingly becoming a consumer economy. Hon. Temporary Speaker, there is no nation that is known to ever develop from reliance on imports. Every economy that flourishes must produce its goods and sell them to the world. As it is, we import even the least of commodities. We import toothpicks and matchboxes which are very basic commodities that can be manufactured locally. That means the employment opportunity has been given to someone else in another country. Every time you consume goods from other countries, you have donated an opportunity for employment of our youth. Any opportunity to manufacture locally is most welcome. We must also ask ourselves the advantages of bringing EPZ. We not only get a lot of employment opportunities but also have an exemption of tax on inputs. This means that if we increase the EPZs and we do not produce the raw materials for them, then we are creating an avenue for loss of taxes in this country. This must be looked at widely so that we promote our local industries and farming. For example, we have production of apparels in the existing EPZ in Athi River. However, you find that Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) that used to support farmers to give us cotton which used to be produced in Mwingi and other places in Ukambani ‘died’. These things must go hand in hand. We now have an upcoming industry creating apparel or textile from bamboo. These are huge things that we must promote. First of all, when we start growing bamboo, we will help farmers to retain water, help our water resources, as well as increase the production and recharging of our underground water. This will ensure that the water does not get depleted during drought. We must look at how to help our farmers give us raw materials. 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."
}