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{
    "id": 1518741,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1518741/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 206,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nakuru Town East, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. David Gikaria",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. First, let me thank my brother, Hon. Bernard Shinali, Member of Parliament for Ikolomani, for bringing this very important Bill. As a country where mining has not been taken seriously, what Hon. Shinali has done will go a long way in transforming and regulating the mining sector. I thank His Excellency the President for accepting to have a relevant police unit within the Ministry. They have also set up a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) unit. Most of our precious strategic minerals, particularly gold, find their way out of the country. It is unfortunate that gold continues being smuggled out, and we only get very little money from it. Hon. Shinali's Gold Processing Bill will go a long way in addressing this problem. The functions of a corporation that is mentioned in the Bill will include: Collecting samples, purifying, smelting, fabricating, registering, refining, monitoring and transporting. This has been lacking to the extent that most of our gold is taken out of this country raw, and we do not get value from it. As Hon. Ikana has indicated, as a Committee, we were projecting that the mining sector could significantly contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The national standards for operating a gold refinery have been clearly stipulated in the Bill. We had an opportunity to visit a few countries, including China, and saw what happens there. This could go a long way in assisting even the locals, particularly the artisanal miners. Hon. Temporary Speaker, you understand the process of extracting gold from underground. It has been done haphazardly. As a Ministry, they started co-operatives for the artisanal miners so that they can reap the maximum benefits, away from the middlemen. For instance, a gram of gold that an artisanal miner has, which may go for around Ksh40,000 in the market, is bought by middlemen for only Ksh5,000 or Ksh3,000. This is becoming unacceptable. As Hon. Shinali has indicated in his Bill, the international accreditation will help this country. Not only is gold mined here in Kenya, but also in our neighbouring countries. They can have their gold can come here for processing and accreditation. This will give Kenya a very strong position in the Continent."
}