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{
"id": 1358461,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1358461/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
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"speaker": {
"id": 13599,
"legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
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"content": "handicapped. Some things you do not want to say openly here on the Floor or even in public gatherings. Sen. (Dr) Khalwale, those confessions you have made here that in your stellar career as a politician, you have never been as unpopular as you are right now; it is not because of your undoing. I honestly believe Sen. (Dr) Khalwale has not changed. The only thing that has changed is that you are defending the indefensible. I can confirm that the people of Malinya still love their Senator, but they do not agree with the policies of the Government that he support. I wish the same admissions that have been made by Sen. (Dr) Khalwale on this Floor would come from the mouth of the President that he acknowledges that some of the policies that he has put in place have made his Government unpopular because they do not resonate with what Kenyans want to do. Let me now come to what I consider untruths, misleading statements about the state of the nation address. The President spoke about many things. These matters have been fact-checked by many people, including reputable media houses, if, indeed, what he was saying is true. Let me start with the easiest because outside there, I am known as the permanent representative of the people of Kenya on matters of unga and it is because as a Luhya, I think I am an authority on food. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the President said in his own Address that a packet of maize meal flour is now retailing at between Kshs145 and 175, and added a very clever rider, ‘depending on the brand’, down from Kshs250. I want to submit to this House that, that statement is in fact not true. I have conducted my own research in supermarkets that are here in Nairobi. The average price of unga is still Kshs200 for a packet of two kilogrammes. Since we host you here in Nairobi, this is something you are welcome to do. In previous arguments, I have tried to convince this Senate that, in fact, the definition of food security includes a reference to people’s preferences. If, for instance, my household has been eating Jogoo Unga and I was buying it at Kshs100 and it goes to Kshs250, you cannot then try to convince me to start buying another brand that I have never heard of, and I do not know where it comes from because it is retailing at Kshs150. The preferences of people have to be included in food security. You cannot, therefore, tell us that depending on the brand you want, you can buy unga at Kshs100. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I can assure you, any single thing in this country is contraband, including some of the liquor that we took during the President's Speech in that famous game I have been referring to. There is an industry that has sprung up called Kariobangi Light Industries. We cannot vouch for the authenticity of everything, but Kenyans expect quality from certain brands and that is what they go for. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we were told about the question of subsidising the price of fertilizers. Now, it is public record that, in fact, some of these subsidised fertilizers came to this country as a donation from the Government of Russia. This is something that the Government of Russia confirmed to us publicly. If you receive something for free, you cannot tell us you have reduced its price. It is that simple. You got it for free; you cannot tell me you have reduced its price. Therefore, the question of fertiliser is another obvious untruth by the Head of State. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}