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{
    "id": 1503230,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1503230/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 470,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Githunguri, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "By the grace of God, I was here in the last Parliament, and I know the zeal and the desire Hon. Kuria Kimani had to have for this Bill materialise into law. Unfortunately, it did not happen, so we have an opportunity to make him proud as a Member of Parliament because he is a brilliant young lawmaker, other than just being the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning. He has heard the cries of many young entrepreneurs of this country who have been locked out of various lucrative businesses and ventures, especially when it comes to Government procurement. This is a wonderful Bill. How I wish that Members of this House support it so that we can give the opportunities to the young innovators of this country who have massive ideas, but have not had an opportunity to attract the Government’s procurement eyes. The other day I participated in a forum where coffee farmers and coffee processors were in the room, and were looking for opportunities to have an advantage to sell their value-added coffee to the Government of Kenya. It is unfortunate that many farmers doing value addition in this country do not have space in the Government’s procurement processes. It is unfortunate that in any Government’s office you go to today, they procure coffee that is manufactured and packed outside this country, and which benefits the people who are not the primary producers of coffee. In the spirit of creating jobs and accommodating as many jobless people as possible in this country, we must be intentional about procuring products that are value-added in Kenya. Because we do not have that technology transfer, this is a very good Bill. It gives us ideas of how to ensure that the technology used in Germany to package our coffee can be brought here. In so doing, we will employ many young people who are knowledgeable and skilled enough, but do not have capital. The idea of technology transfer can convince every Member of this House to support this Bill. Can we ask ourselves why even a tea bag that we consume in Parliament is most likely not packaged in Kenya? Why? We grow tea. The toothpaste that we use every morning, a commodity that almost all 52 million Kenyans use, is not packaged in Kenya. Can we ask ourselves why a toothpick or a matchbox, items that we all use, are not packaged in Kenya? We grow trees. What technology is needed to make a toothpick, for heaven's sake? It is because we believe that products that are manufactured and packaged elsewhere are better than what we produce. That calls for a paradigm shift. We must start believing in ourselves. This Bill will allow new innovators in our country to partner with foreign investors and integrate their knowledge and experiences, which is a welcome idea. I look forward to a day when a Government procurement process will accommodate 70 per cent of locally value-added farmers’ produce. I recently saw a communication from the Office of the Controller of Budget, if I am not wrong. I may need to be corrected. It was a memo that stated that for us to cut Government expenditure, we need to stop consuming tea and coffee in offices. When we say that we will stop consuming coffee and tea in offices, what are we telling our farmers? We are telling them that we are not interested in consuming their coffee and tea. Anybody who is in the business of value addition will have no market. Sometimes you need to engage in consultations before writing some of those memos. You are telling people not to consume tea and coffee in offices because there are Government measures to reduce expenditure, but you are still buying water, which is more expensive than a cup of tea. You are still serving water in exported bottles. We hardly manufacture those bottles locally. What are we telling our farmers? This Bill by Hon. Kimani Kuria, the young lawmaker from Molo, is wonderful and we must support it for the sake of our young people. For the sake of the farmers who want to add value to honey and supply it locally, and those who want to add value to milk, yoghurt, cheese, and coffee, we must support this Bill. I proudly support the Bill and congratulate the Member for his wonderful input."
}