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{
    "id": 1518748,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1518748/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 213,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "South Mugirango, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Silvanus Osoro",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I have had keen interest in this business for the past seven years. I know what it takes. I have seen people taking advantage of the lack of knowledge or exposure of our young people in those areas where we have such precious stones. But because I have been keen on this industry, I know that the precious stone is found in Vihiga and Siaya counties. It is not found in large quantities in Migori County. That area mostly contains copper at the border between Migori County and other counties. I have tried to engage in that line as well, but the process of even getting a mining license is very difficult. To date, no single person has a pure mining licence. They only issue a processing licence. So, you have a processing license, but you do not have a mining licence. In fact, it is only a prospecting licence. Where do they expect you to get this product or rather stones to process them so that they can give you such? We also have cartels in the business. They sponsor people to take investors to court. They use police officers and such. The Bill will re-align the systems of operation of the gold mining sector. I confess that we have a precious stone in this country. It gets up to 89 per cent in some areas. It is almost at 92 per cent in Siaya. It is about 86 per cent in Vihiga. You can really invest in this place. This will help. We have a reef in Kitui that is not tapped and the county government declines to give licences because they have no clear structures. They decline to even dispose of such pieces of land. I have displayed my interest in this Bill because I have vast experience on what this whole thing is all about. I congratulate Hon. Shinali and tell him that we must put our heads together as we move to the next step, that is, right from the point of acquiring land, licencing, processing, safety, and finally disposal and selling the export. Even that line is also a challenge. We have many middlemen and conmen midway when you are doing the exports. By the time you want to dispose of one kilogramme of gold in this country, trust me, you will have lost a lot of money in paperwork. They will say: “Oh, you need this stamp. Oh, you need this-and-that. You need to go to this place. Oh, somebody else needs to sign.” You may not sell your gold unless you become a crook. You will end up making losses. We must include that element in this Bill. With that, I congratulate Hon. Shinali and say that we support them entirely. Going forward, we will make sure we harmonise such laws to befit the interest of the people and investors too. Do not chase investors away. Do not own up land and say: “This is my land! You cannot just come.” Embrace them and let us grow together as a people."
}