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{
    "id": 155283,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/155283/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 210,
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    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, yesterday, a Member of Parliament requested for a Statement - before you made your Statement this afternoon to clarify on how the Prime Minister’s Time is supposed to be utilized - regarding the issue of maize or, to be more precise, contaminated maize which is lying somewhere in Mombasa. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify once and for all the issues about the importation of maize by the Government. At the very first meeting of the Grand Coalition Cabinet held on 19th May, this year, a Report was submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture together with the Ministry of State for Special Programmes to the effect that there was an acute shortage of maize in the country. The Report indicated that the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) of the country had only two million bags against a monthly consumption of three million bags. It was also reported that there was scarcity of the commodity all over the country and that the country was still away from harvesting. It was then decided that the Government should immediately import five million bags of maize. Because this matter was cross-cutting, that is, involving the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of State for Special Programmes and the Ministry of Finance, an ad hoc Committee of the Cabinet to be chaired by the Prime Minister was constituted. That Committee was supposed to deal with policy issues on behalf of the Cabinet. Mr. Speaker, Sir, after that decision was made, the first Committee meeting was held under my chairmanship. The Ministry of Agriculture petitioned that although the country needed five million bags, the harvesting season was almost starting. It stated that if we tied all the money that the Government had in the importation of five million bags, there would be no money to buy maize from the farmers when they begin to harvest. It was, therefore, decided that instead of importing five million bags, the Government would import three million bags and allow the private sector to import the balance of two million bags."
}