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{
"id": 1502474,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1502474/?format=api",
"text_counter": 80,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Nambale, Independent",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Geoffrey Mulanya",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to debate the President's Speech. Having listened to the President on the day he gave the Speech in this House, I was a very happy person because it was a very progressive one. It will help to move our nation forward. At the moment, we are faced with very many challenges. Kenyans are crying out and need the House to come to their aid and address many issues. The President has given us food for thought on what we are supposed to do. Personally, I have four take-homes from the Speech. First, on food security, the people of Nambale, whom I represent, were among the beneficiaries of the President's programme on subsidised fertiliser. Initially, our people used to buy fertiliser at a cost of between Ksh6,000 and Ksh7,000. Additionally, the main depot was 70 kilometres away. I personally took the initiative to move it closer to the people by creating a mini-depot through my NG-CDF office. I urge the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to support the President on that particular initiative by ensuring that we have many collection centres, even at the ward level, because we are talking about farmers. Affording even the Ksh2,500 is a tall order for many Kenyans, and that amount does not even include transport. So, if we centralise the collection centres at the ward level, we will have many beneficiaries. Many Kenyans will access the fertiliser. Further, we will ensure that there will be no hunger in the country, as was experienced in the year 2022/2023. Further, I also noted the comment by the President on sugar-cane. Coming from the sugar-cane belt, I am a happy person that the President put ink to the Sugar Bill, 2022, which is now the Sugar Act, 2024. That Act will help control the production and sale of the sugar- cane in this country. The President was also very progressive by encouraging Kenyans that, instead of being a sugar-importing nation, we should be a sugar-exporting nation. By doing so, production will increase, and we will have many factories, thus creating many jobs and even improving our GDP by exporting sugar. That is extremely progressive. We should not encourage sugar barons to bring and dump sugar in our country. That will discourage our farmers, thus leading to low output from the farm. Still on sugar-cane production, I urge the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to ensure that, as we enforce the Sugar Act, 2024, we also control the price per tonnage for the farmers. This will ensure that a farmer does not go home empty-handed after toiling for 18 months to produce sugar-cane and support the nation’s economy. The other issue was on corruption. The President again gave us a take-home, where he challenged the House on the issue of election petitions being concluded within six months and yet, corruption cases take 10 years. If we reflect on the era when the period within which election petitions were concluded was not controlled, we note that a Member would serve a whole term while the petitioner was still struggling in the corridors of justice. So, that timeframe has helped reduce election malpractices. Equally, reducing the period within which to litigate on corruption cases will help our nation by discouraging people from engaging in that vice. Lastly, on the issue of Universal Health Care, there is a positive in that the President is encouraging Kenyans to embrace that particular mode of financing the health system in this country. The President's wish is to have all Kenyans access free health care in this country. We note that under Taifa Care, when you register today, you get the services immediately. Compare"
}