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{
    "id": 1398619,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1398619/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 269,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I thank all our colleagues for taking time to speak to this important Bill. When I made my contributions yesterday, I indeed noted that this is a neglected sector of the economy. If we took time to plan and organize well as envisioned in manifesto of the Kenya Kwanza administration, then it has the potential to save our country billions of shillings that we use in importing sugar into the country to meet our annual deficit which is slightly over a million tones or below that. Secondly it will create employment by the fact that millions of farmers will benefit from an organized sugar sector. It cannot be the case that Brazil supplies a quarter of the world’s sugar demand. This is just one country. The case cannot be made worse than the fact that the leading producer of sugar in Africa is Egypt, a country that relies on water that traverses the sugar belt regions of our country, from River Nzoia, Sondu, and all the other rivers wash down the stream towards the River Nile. They are able to put the water to prudent use and grow good cane, which they sell to the rest of Africa. It is embarrassing. I am glad that we are finally getting it right to organize this sector to ensure it works for our farmers and the country. It is possible. I know for a fact because I understand the sugar industry well. Upon the passage of this Bill and good follow-up of all the proposals in this Bill, Kenya can be an exporter of sugar to the rest of the COMESA region and global supply chains in about three years. I thank my colleagues who have taken the time to contribute and raise important points on this issue and their proposals for how they want the sector to be better organized. I have taken a keen interest in the colleagues who, in the breakdown of the sugar levy, are concerned that if you send this money back to the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), what is the assurance that it shall be used to maintain some of our roads? These are good arguments. For example, if I take the County of Kericho and the sugar factories nearby; West Valley Sugar Company and Muhoroni Sugar Company Limited, they are supplied mainly by a road network that is comprised of both county and national Government. Therefore, there needs to be a balance. I have engaged Sen. (Dr.) Murango, the Chairperson of the Committee, that when we get to the Third Reading, perhaps, we can break this down further, so that there is a share of that allocation to KeRRA. Those funds must be ring-fenced to maintain the roads that lead to the sugar factories. If this fund were operational in that nature, the Kipsitet/Muhoroni junction between Kericho and Kisumu counties would not be in the kind of state it is in today. This important link road supports the sugar sub-sector in the two counties. However, it is in an extremely deplorable state yet, county governments 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."
}