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{
    "id": 1398564,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1398564/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 214,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13217,
        "legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
        "slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
    },
    "content": "services to the county and national government. We even have the pricing committee so that farmers are given a better price as per their supply. On the issue of factory maintenance; you remember sometime in this country, we were told that there is scarcity of sugar because some factories are undergoing maintenance. I would have expected that we ensure there are best practices. On the issue of weighbridges, we have had cases where they are being tempered such that farmers do not get value of the cane they deliver. I expected that there is Sugar Board, which has been captured to check and ensure that the weighbridges are not tempered with to the disadvantage of farmers in the country. For example, I have seen Butali Sugar Company has opened a weighbridge. As you approach Potopoto, on your way to Kisumu, there is also another weighbridge that I do not know if it belongs to Kibos Sugar and Allied Companies. I do not know whether Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBS) has checked and approved the Selia weighbridge. I have seen that they have just opened a weighbridge in Selia. This will be the work of sugar board. Thirdly on Clause 6, I agree on the issue of efficient road networks. In Nandi, we have not seen cess for sugarcane. In Chemelil, Chemase and Tinderet, the roads are pathetic yet Chemelil, West Kenya and Kibos Sugar Factories pay cess. We have never seen value. In Mosop, we supply cane to Butali Sugar Company in Kakamega where my brother comes from, but the roads are pathetic. This is unfortunate and I hope the Board shall find a way of resolving this. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the Finance Act, some Senators had raised the issue of imposed levies. These are issues in the Finance Act and Bill in preparation of the budget and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). These are the levies we pay. People pay tea levy and sugar levy. They are meant for cane development and growth of farmers, within the sugar industry. Therefore, there are not new taxes that are being implemented. Article 219 on the process of taxation is provided for in the Constitution. On the issue of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), this is a monster in Clause 13 that continues to be a threat to the growth of the economy. The SRC have assumed powers, which are not there by setting yet, they are supposed to be advisory. I agree with the wording that the payment shall be determined by the Cabinet Secretary as advised by SRC. That should remain. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Clause 18 says- “(1) A person shall not conduct the business of a miller unless he or she is registered by the Board and the premises in which the business is specified in the register in accordance to the regulations made under this Act. (2) The Board shall issue to each miller registered under this section a certification of registration specifying---” This is where we support the bottom-up economic model or Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) as espoused by Kenya Kwanza. Clause 18(3)- “No fee shall be charged in respect of registration or certification of registration issued under this section.” Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this means that ordinary Kenyans do not need to be sugar barons, millionaires or billionaires to get a license. This is in line with what the President espouses on the bottom-up economic model. Remember, there was a law on 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."
}