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"id": 1353046,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
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"legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
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"content": "I am happy that the President has given priority to the construction of dams, including Keben Dam in Nandi Hills sub county, Karimenu, Thwake, Itare, Bosto Dam in Bomet County and the functional Chemususu Dam. Madam Temporary Speaker, there is one in your county that is supposed to provide water for Nairobi City County. There are many other dams. We need to produce food and manage the post-harvest operations. That is where my concern is. That is why we need milk-cooling plants so that when we get excess milk, we can process it into powder milk. We need proper storage. We passed the Warehouse Receipt System Bill. The Government has told maize farmers to dry their maize at National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). They can also hire the warehouse so that the food is properly stored. This includes rice from Mwea, beans, cassava and other produce. In the Anthills of the Savannah, a book by the famous Chinua Achebe, in one of the scenes where he was cycling a bicycle, he said he was eating the hills like yams. Food has formed conversations. That is why its safety is important. Therefore, I urge county governments to manage post-harvest. I agree with the review and continuation of the office of the food safety controller. We have it established even in the United States of America (USA) and other areas. This recruitment shall be done by the Public Service Commission (PSC), vetted by Parliament and appointed by the President. I am happy that for the first time we are seeing Parliament. Under Article 93 of the Constitution, Parliament means Senate and the National Assembly. For the first time the Bill expressly talks about Parliament. You will be shocked that we are talking about National Assembly as if the issue of food and agriculture is not devolved. This is a shared function although it is devolved. Clause 5 is on the guiding principles. I hope they will have proper coordination with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). We saw the story of sugar that had mercury. We all remember the drama that ensued. We want to ensure everything we consume meets the standards that are there. Public health and food safety regulations must also be coordinated. This is a multiagency and multifaceted approached. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have started doing mixed farming. When I drove through Murang’a County over the weekend going for a ruracio ceremony, I saw many avocadoes. The sad reality is that when you try to export them through JKIA, you are told they have not met the European Union (EU) standards for export and yet our farmers have sacrificed a lot. How do we ensure we comply in order to export avocadoes and real honey? Can you believe that sometimes when you want to export avocadoes, you are told they do not meet the standards? I saw how committed our people are in avocado production. However, when they bring them to the market, they are told they do not meet EU standards. The only way to cure such instances is having a proper food and safety controller so that we can be given guidelines on exportation. It is in the Government’s interest to improve on the balance of trade by exporting more and importing less in order to avoid the dollar crises we have at the moment."
}