HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1490617,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1490617/?format=api",
"text_counter": 111,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Okiya Omtatah",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I have been litigating, and I am very happy to see that the orders I got in the court saying that the tribunals must be under the Judiciary, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the Chief Justice are being implemented in this Act. The Sugar Tribunal is an independent tribunal, independent of the executive, appointed by the Judiciary; and so when the parties go there, be it the Executive or private members of the public, they appear before an independent tribunal, which can dispense justice. I have also noticed that the tribunal will be funded from the Judiciary Fund, and as you and I know, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Judiciary Fund has not been activated. This is a wake-up call to Parliament, especially the National Assembly to implement the Judiciary Fund, which is in the Constitution, so that this tribunal can be funded, otherwise we might run into headwinds and this tribunal will not get funded. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, my sister, Sen. Ogola, raised the issue of taxes. There are too many taxes on the sugar crop. We pray that the same be reduced and the sugar crop be considered a food crop. Why is it classified like some cash crop with no food value? I do not understand that and yet, most of the sugar ends up on our tables. The environmental issues have not been addressed in this Bill. One of the biggest problems of sugar farming has been the destruction of water catchment areas. Where I come from, massive swamps that used to hold water, absorb the rainfall and keep water available to the people throughout the year have been drained and dried out, so that people can grow sugarcane. Those environmental issues will need to be looked into after we have passed this Bill so that the farming of sugar is not destructive to the environment. There should also be restrictions of where you can farm sugarcane and where you cannot farm sugarcane, because if we destroy our water catchment areas, we will be simply stoking disaster. Water catchment areas in the Constitution and Article 62(g) are defined as public land that belongs to the national Government. It also defines water catchment areas, which include the wetlands. Sugarcane has been very destructive to the wetlands in the manner it has been farmed. If we must grow sugarcane, there should be need for research so that we can have cane which can grow in the wetlands without having to drain the wetlands dry. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on the issue of transport, it is true that many accidents occur. This is because, if you are familiar with tractors, they have very narrow heads and the headlamps are almost next to each other. At night, it looks like it is one headlamp which is associated with motorcycles. That has resulted in many accidents because all of a sudden, you get to realize that there is a huge trailer behind the tractor which is coming. I pray that when the Cabinet Secretaries and the COG make regulations, we should get a way of insisting that these tractors that transport cane are fitted with strobe lights. A strobe light is the kind of thing you see on police vehicles, which flashes when the light rotates. Therefore, if strobe lights can be a requirement for tractors, then that will help avert the many accidents that occur because people assume that they are going to meet a two-wheeler, but they end up meeting a huge truck. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, sugarcane also has a major problem in this country. I do not see any serious sanctions against the dumping of cheap sugar that has destroyed 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."
}