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{
    "id": 1475509,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1475509/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 290,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nandi County, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Cynthia Muge",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "farmers waiting for so long for their money after the coffee has been sold. I am happy that with this Bill, we are going to ensure that a farmer is paid immediately the coffee is sold. This is a move that will get our farmers out of the cycle of debts and loans. You always ask for loans to pay farmers but, when you get the money, you pay loans and the farmers wait even longer. I am pleased this Bill addresses that issue. For a very long time, we have been witnessing issues of theft of coffee, either on the road or in the storage. I am happy that this particular Bill gives us a police unit that is able to guard coffee, whether it is in the store or the warehouse or when it is on transit to where it is going to be sold. This will help us to cut down the organised crime, so to say. When you follow the trail of the stolen coffee, it ends up in a place that happens to be people who deal with coffee . So, I am very pleased with that. Lastly, I am happy about the introduction of a common structure which will help us manage the coffee sector properly, and make sure that we are able to run it smoothly. You are aware that the co-operative societies in this country that deal with coffee, even the one in my village, as small as they are, keep and handle a lot of money. But you find that, that particular co-operative society does not even have a proper accountant. There is a volunteer who just volunteers to do the maths using a book that they have just drawn some lines in between it. They also do not have auditors who should audit those accounts and protect and take care of the farmers when the money hits the accounts of the co-operatives. I am happy about that particular part. In my county especially, we do not have a comprehensive record of the number of co- operatives that are handling coffee, and we have coffee being sold through those co-operatives. That tells you that we are also losing a lot of revenue because of that lack of data in that particular sector. I am also happy about the quality of coffee enhancement, because we have provisions here that will see to it that, at least, some mixing of the coffee will be looked into, so that we have very high-quality coffee coming from our farms, and our people get value for their farming. So, I support this Bill, albeit with the amendments that we need to make. I note with concern that coffee evolves every other time. It is an industry that needs a lot of expertise. It is an industry that needs professionals to run it since they understand what happens. I will also be supporting the amendment on the qualifications. That is because if we want to reap very good and very well from that sector, we must equally invest in it. Investing in it with our professionals will ensure that the people that we send to those boards are able to handle the issues of the coffee farmers, and are able to handle emerging issues in the coffee sector so that our coffee can fetch the best prices and our farmers can do better coffee farming going into the future. I support this Bill with the amendments that will be coming through. Thank you."
}