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{
    "id": 1263093,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1263093/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 242,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make a small contribution to this Bill. The great Senator for Kitui who sponsored this Bill is my neighbour. Tana River County is a neighbour to Kitui. When he talks about growing mung beans, it is the same climatic region that we are talking about. I, therefore, stand here to strongly support this Bill. We have seen other sectors of the economy in this country being supported by the State. We have seen the coffee and tea sectors being supported by the State. However, when it comes to crops grown in our climatic regions such as Kitui, Tana River and other areas, there is no support that the State has given us. What we have had is tokenism, where we are told they will send us a little fertilizer or some little help from the Ministry and it is a one-off thing. The politics of oppression and segregation in this country have been shown in the resource allocation in this country in areas such as ours. You will never hear that the national Government has written off loans worth billions to sectors of production in areas such as ours. However, you will hear that the Government is writing off loans for coffee farmers or the tea sector worth billions. All of us pay money. However, we are told that there is no law because the crops we grow do not have a legal framework or an organized and regulated sector. That has continued since Independence. People say that the people of Kitui or Tana River are not developed. It is not because their leaders are not working but because of economic segregation. It is my prayer that in the President William Ruto’s Administration, the bottom-up spirit will reach areas such as ours to support our economies. Right now, we know special measures are being put up to support coffee and tea sectors, but you do not hear anything about mung beans or watermelons which are grown in our area, or other legumes like beans that we grow in Tana River. You do not hear small-scale farmers being given support to boost what they grow. We continue to be segregated in this economy. We continue to participate from outside. We are cheering in an economy where people are growing. That is unfortunate. Madam Temporary Speaker, I hope you will travel. You should visit our areas and see the type of housing. When people get coffee booms, they make beautiful homes. They make nice houses and beautiful areas. However, in our areas, there is no boom. There is nothing like that. You will see dilapidated houses and farmers who are struggling to feed their people. It is difficult even to feed themselves. So, I stand here to urge fellow Senators to support this Bill. The establishment of this regulatory sector to help the development of this sector for growth is good for us, especially those who have similar conditions in the drier areas of this country."
}