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{
    "id": 1338640,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1338640/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 225,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Marakwet West, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Timothy Kipchumba",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion by Hon. Peter Salasya. I thank the people of Mumias East Constituency for electing such a forward-thinking Member of Parliament to this august House. The rain started beating the sugar industry in 2013. Problems in the sugar industry began when the Sugar Act of 2013 was repealed and matters to do with sugar were placed under the Crops Act. Matters to do with sugar were placed under the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority (AFFA). This Motion is good but it may have been overtaken by events. Two weeks ago, the House passed the Sugar Act and reinstated that piece of legislation that existed in 2013. The Kenya Sugar Board was re-introduced under that piece of legislation. That means that it will now handle matters sugar. Cartels and shrewd businesspeople have run down the sugar industry. The Kenya Sugar Board, which has been re-introduced under the Sugar Act, will solve that problem once and for all. Can you imagine that our citizens have been ingesting mercury in sugar yet we have the KEBS? Mercury is a cause of cancer. If you compare our country’s cancer statistics with other countries in Europe, you realise that many people are going to India for cancer treatment. There is human traffic jam at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) because of cancer. If you compare our country’s statistics with other African countries, we lose 100,000 people every year because of cancer. The Kenya Sugar Board should take its responsibilities seriously and propose regulations on importation of unadulterated sugar into the country. There is also the issue of packaging. We cannot import sugar from countries that are unauthorised by the AFFA. The imported sugar is packaged and sold in our supermarkets as having come from the Mumias Sugar Company yet that company is not involved in the production of that sugar. I support this Motion to the effect that importation of sugar must be regulated through the Sugar Act, which was passed by this House. I believe that the Senate will also pass that piece of legislation without amendments. We will then regulate the sugar industry and stop the re-packaging of sugar from countries that have not been approved by the Kenya Sugar Board as was adopted by the legislation that was passed in this House. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I fully support this Motion."
}