Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1279543,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1279543/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 600,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kanduyi, FORD - K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Makali",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for ruling him out of order. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for allowing me to also weigh in on this particular Bill brought by my very good friend, the Member for Navakholo Constituency, Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe. First, I thank Hon. Wangwe for resuscitating this Bill, which this House had passed in the 12th Parliament. But it died at the Senate because the Senate did not deal with it. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am praying that we fast-track this Bill so that sugarcane farmers from the regions we represent can reap its fruits. As we deliberate on this Bill, sugar factories have been closed in entire western Kenya; as we deliberate on this Bill, sugarcane farmers, specifically in the Nzoia Sugar Belt, have not been paid for deliveries they made for the last 14 months. As we deliberate on this Bill, employees of Nzoia Sugar Company which is domiciled in my constituency, have not been paid for the last 16 months. Where did the rain begin beating us? I believe the rain began beating us when we repealed the Sugar Act and enacted the AFFA, which introduced the AFFA Board to take charge of sugar and all the other crops. Why do we say this? Previously, when we had the Sugar Act, we had the Kenya Sugar Board that had representation of all the farmers in the sugar- growing areas who were agitating and pushing the issues touching on the sugar cane farmers. We replaced it with a sugar directorate. This sugar directorate has been of great disservice to farmers because it neither agitates, focuses, propagates, nor represents the interests of the sugar farmers. It is heartening to note that in the new Bill being deliberated tonight, we have brought back the Kenya Sugar Board, which will be a farmer's voice. In the current legal framework, farmers have been denied a voice. If you look at the Crops Act, sugarcane is not defined as a crop under the Act. We have pigeonholed sugar matters in a sugar directorate which does not serve farmers. 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."
}