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{
    "id": 1284829,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1284829/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 178,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Soy, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. David Kiplagat",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I support the action plan tabled by the Joint Committee of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock and the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning. It is important to note that the sugar sector has a lot of problems. The Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock has taken much time to look at the problems affecting the sugar sector. One of them is the debt that currently affects the public companies. We have Mumias Sugar Company, Nzoia Sugar Company, Miwani Sugar Company, where land is the only remaining thing, Muhoroni Sugar Company, and Chemelil Sugar Company, which have many problems. This action plan will assist the Government to fix the problem once and for all. When we were doing the stakeholders' engagement recently in Kisumu, the important fact is that sugarcane farmers do not want their companies to be privatised. They believe they can be leased to strategic partners for a duration that is not 99 years. They said that they can only be leased for about 20 years. It should come out very clearly in that lease. The strategic partner should use the company and nuclear farms for sugarcane production. At no time should they start growing beans or potatoes on those farms. It was also clear that the strategic partner should come with new machines. We have seen cases where over Ksh700 million is used for maintenance. The strategic partner should develop new machines for the sugar companies to be productive. They also believe that zoning should not be brought into focus because it undermines productivity and competition. Thank you very much."
}