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{
"id": 1476555,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1476555/?format=api",
"text_counter": 106,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Matungu, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Peter Nabulindo",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Let me take this opportunity to thank all the Members who have diligently contributed to this Motion with a lot of passion and insights to whatever was on the Floor of the House. The House has had a lot of facts and issues arising from the sugarcane industry. This is generally, the entire sugarcane farming, processing and sale of sugar in Kenya. I would like to thank the following Members who diligently contributed to this Motion: Hon. Oundo, Hon. Kaluma, Hon. Dawood, Hon. Keynan, Hon. Okello, Hon. Kihara, Hon. Omondi, and any other Member who contributed. I will not go into much detail because Members have debated well and have come up strongly in support of the issues that this Motion seeks to achieve. One of the speakers today, the Member for Nairobi City County, Mhe. Passaris, said that the problem that we have with the sugar industry in this country is that of cartels which I totally agree. Since early 1990s up to today, cartels have been ruling the sugar industry unabated and it seems like they are above the law yet the Government cannot do anything about it. The biggest problem with these cartels is that they are in Government. They fight to be in Government so that they can control these businesses. Hon. Temporary Speaker, you are my neighbour and you know very well that since the collapse of the sugar industry, many people, in fact millions of them, have sunk into poverty. Therefore, it is time the country and Parliament did something concerning the suffering of sugarcane farmers. This is not the first time that a Motion or a Bill about sugar and sugarcane farming has come to this House. We have had numerous Motions, Bills and laws enacted in this country to manage the sugar industry, but nothing seems to be working. If you go to Government shelves, you will find that Motions, Bills, laws and Regulations are gathering dust and nobody seems to be paying attention to sugarcane farmers. That has led us, as leaders, to be in a very awkward position because we need to help farmers, but as farmers, we do not get any assistance from the Government. As one of the speakers said, if we do not do something now, we should then forget about the sugarcane industry because it is going to collapse totally in the next few years. There is a glimpse of hope that someone is trying to revive a factory like Mumias. However, the reason why our sugar cannot compete competitively in the market today is because we still use obsolete equipment to produce sugar. Nowadays, Chinese, Japanese, and European equipment are as small as this desk while we have obsolete equipment in Mumias Sugar Company with one boiler being the size of the entire Parliament. That thing consumes electricity a hundred times more than the modern equipment. In as much as we try, we cannot produce sugar that is competitive in our modern market. In conclusion, I thank the House and Members for the support they have given this Motion. I hope the Government will put into consideration all the sentiments by the Members of Parliament, more so, Members who are concerned about sugarcane industry and the poverty that is killing sugarcane farmers. It is time we acted since we cannot continue talking about the falling and revival of the sugarcane industry. We have talked about it for the last 30 years, but it seems we are not moving anywhere. It is time the Government became serious enough, looked at the farmers, took them seriously, empowered them and let them benefit from sugarcane farming and production. With those few remarks, I beg to move. Before I sit down, under Standing Order 53(3), I request that the putting of the Question be deferred to the next Sitting as would be scheduled by the House Business Committee. Thank you."
}