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{
    "id": 1274367,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1274367/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 181,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kathiani, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Robert Mbui",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity. As we debate this Motion, it is important to remember the purpose behind the introduction of the maize subsidy because sometimes it seems to be getting lost in discussions. Because of prolonged drought towards the end of last year, the Government of the day noted that the price of unga was rising all the way beyond Ksh200 per packet. So, the Government made a decision, which in my opinion was a very decent decision, to support the Kenyan public. By subsidising that product, the prices were actually targeted to go down to Ksh100. The idea was noble and brilliant. The Government was showing that it has a heart and cares for the people of the country. However, as much as it was a brilliant idea, there is still too much agony amongst people. There is agony among people who supplied maize. In fact, Paragraph 43 of the Committee Report indicates to us that some of the millers, due to non-payment, are suffering a great deal. They are facing closure due to the debt burden. Some of them have lost jobs. They are faced with operational losses. As a result of non-payment, we are seeing families breaking up. Of course, they also say that they have reduced faith in Government because they did a contract with the Government and they were not paid. We must make it very clear that the Government exists in perpetuity. It does not exist because someone is in the Office of the President. The Office of the President can change hands. The leadership of the country, in terms of political parties, can change hands yet the Government exists in perpetuity. These people that supplied goods have the right to be paid. I am happy that finally the Committee is also seeing some sense in some of them being paid. Although, there is still a lot of opaqueness within the whole deal. I sympathise with the Committee because it was trying to squeeze water out of a rock. This is because they have conflicting details from every organisation that came to them. From the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to the MA and the GMOA. All of them were giving different figures. That tells me that there is a problem. It makes me smell a rat in the whole deal. Article 10 of the Constitution is very clear about values and principles of good governance. One of the most important tenets is transparency and accountability, public participation and involvement of the public. Hon. Temporary Speaker, there is too much opaqueness in the whole deal, that I feel that there are people who are trying to hide information so that they can gain. This is a 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."
}