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{
"id": 1477929,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1477929/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
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"speaker": {
"id": 13217,
"legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
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"content": "I heard the Chairperson of the Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity, and Regional Integration, my senior brother and friend, Sen. Chute, say something about the ethnic balance within the Authority. When you look at Section 10 of the Authority, you can bring regional and tribal balance under Article 10 of the Constitution because five people will be nominated—a representative from the Attorney General's Office and the Principal Secretary. So, even if Mr. David Kemei comes from a certain tribe, the Authority has a board that can still be nominated to reflect the face of Kenya. I wanted to correct that perception, so that they would not imagine Mr. David Kemei running a one-man show within the Authority. The Authority has a number of people with whom they will work. There is the secretariat, the management, and the board. Reading the Competition Authority Act is critical. Mr. Speaker, Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would like to talk directly to Mr. David Kemei. We have a problem as milk farmers. Can you believe it? I do not want to name a company that was once associated with the most powerful man in this country many years ago. They control over 30 per cent of milk market share in this country. They manipulate the prices of milk. Where I come from, God has given us rain. We depend on the soil for maize, coffee, tea and milk. This includes Homa Bay, Mombasa, Kakamega, Kitui, and Garissa counties. However, the sad reality is that the farmer is suffering the most. In the value chain of farming, the biggest beneficiaries, without fear of contradiction, are the brokers and middlemen. Our farmers, even the Ndengu farmers, as we wait for the Mung Beans Bill, the National Assembly has decided to become a graveyard of Senate Bills. The Mung and Coffee Bills have gone there for long. The Tea Amendment Bill has been there. Also, the Sugar Bill has been there. We pass things here, but they are relegated to a cemetery of Bills in the National Assembly. The Competition Authority must tell us why one person is controlling the milk market. They do this to manipulate prices. Even in the coffee and tea sector, Kshs32 billion worth of tea is lying in Mombasa County because of lack of competition and unfair trade practices. I want to challenge Mr. David Kemei to say consumer protection is critical. We must protect consumers. There are things that you consume in this country that you cannot dare see outside Kenya. We must protect our consumers from what we consume, eat and use. We are told that asbestos has been banned in this country. However, some buildings still have asbestos. What is the Competition Authority doing about it? Consumer protection is the heartbeat of the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK). We have seen unfair trade practices. My colleague Senator mentioned something about the Telco in the country. We have these Telecommunication companies like Safaricom and Starlink. Although Mr. Elon Musk blocked me on Twitter, we will have a conversation with him in the near future. He has brought Starlink and Safaricom is now worried. We want that competition. It is healthy for consumers, because the more in the market, the merrier the market, the more enjoyable the market and the more affordable the market for every consumer. 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."
}