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{
    "id": 1502382,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1502382/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 299,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Gatundu South, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. GG Kagombe",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to the debate on last Thursday’s State of the Nation Address by the President. He talked about fertiliser subsidy. He took a very bold step in walking the less walked path of choosing to subsidise production rather than consumption. In 2022, we imported sugar worth US$269 million, which is about Ksh40 billion. We also imported maize worth Ksh24 billion. This money has now returned to the country and is in the pockets of Kenyans. The deficit in the balance of payment from 2003 has consistently risen from US$0.89 billion to a whopping US$10.55 billion in 2022. It is only in 2023 that the deficit in the balance of payment went down to almost US$1 billion. After petroleum, the biggest contributors have been sugar, fertiliser and maize. It is shameful that we pride ourselves on maize being our staple food, yet we still import it from other countries. However, this administration made the bold move of stopping importation of maize. Right now, we have 47 million 90-kilogramme bags of maize in our stores. We would have maize worth Ksh117 billion if we took a bag at Ksh2,500. We would be importing that value under the current dollar rate if we did not have the maize. That would be the amount of money we would be contributing as deficit to the balance of payment. The President talked about housing. There is an untold story about housing. About 14 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) goes to taxes and the Government. Kenyans are not able to put food on the table because the cost of housing in this country is so high. The government is trying to dissuade private investors from going into building houses because the cost of housing in this country is very high. Housing is lucrative. Therefore, everybody with Ksh100 million in the bank will build a flat and end up employing only two people—a caretaker and a watchman. That money should instead have gone into production. I was having lunch with a gentleman yesterday. He told me that he has sold his flat and started production business in Kiserian. He is now employing 75 people with the same Ksh100 million he had put up a flat in Kinoo with. Private money is taken to production when the nation takes over housing people. We should stop making housing lucrative so that the Government takes it and then private money goes to production. That is how we are going to create employment. The Government cannot employ all people. The private sector creates employment. You make the private sector employ people by creating fiscal policies that entertain and encourage people to put their money in what can create employment. We have been doing housing with tailor-made fashions for everything. I want my unique styles of windows and doors when doing a house in South B. However, production in this system becomes easy because we will be using the same doors, hinges, windows et cetera . That makes production easy. This is the trend in all developed countries. Housing is a function of government. I can see that my time is about to lapse. Please add me one minute. Regarding the education funding model issue that has been vilified, it is a shame. You and I are people of means. Our children go to the same university with people from families that cannot even afford to place a meal on the table. These are called to the same university and"
}