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{
    "id": 191974,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/191974/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 188,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Waititu",
    "speaker_title": "The Member for Embakasi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 147,
        "legal_name": "Ferdinand Ndung'u Waititu",
        "slug": "ferdinand-waititu"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir. My names are Ferdinand Ndung'u Waititu. I am the new Member of Parliament for Embakasi Constituency in Nairobi. First, I would like to thank my constituents who voted for me to become the Member of Parliament for Embakasi. I would also like to thank those who are not my constituents and did not vote for me, but offered me moral support. I promise all of them that I will work to the best of my ability to make sure that I bring development to my constituency and contribute towards building this nation. I would also like to thank the Minister for moving this Motion on Taxation Proposals. I would like to mention a few things that I have read in his Speech, particularly touching on motorcycles. These will go to a great extent in providing employment amongst our youth. They will easily afford to buy the motorcycles, which are replacing boda boda bicycles. The motorcycles reach areas that matatus cannot go. In fact, they are being used as taxis in areas where people used to walk long distances. So, reducing the taxes on motorcycles will go to a great extent in reducing June 26, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1469 unemployment in our country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, I have also noted the reduction of taxes on cement. This will also encourage construction in our country. It will also create employment amongst our youth and will be a catalyst towards improving our economy. I also noted that there is reduction of duty on telecommunication equipment. This will go to a great extent in improving our training facilities in our colleges, some of which are private. It will also enhance efficiency in our working places. The Minister for Finance has also reduced taxes on vehicles that are used for garbage collection. However, it is also important to note that I have been a councillor in this city from one of the wards that had a lot of garbage. In fact, I come from one of the wards in Embakasi which is a dumping site. I would like to inform the Minister that most trucks used now in Nairobi for garbage collection are not specially designed for garbage collection. Garbage collectors use open trucks because the garbage is loaded on to them using tractors. In fact, some of the garbage, because of its own nature, cannot be loaded in the specially designed garbage collection vehicles. I think the Minister should have waived duty on vehicles that are used by garbage collectors. This waiver ought to be displayed on the windscreen of the vehicle so that it is not used for other purposes. Garbage collectors in Nairobi are low income earners who can only own one lorry. They cannot even afford to go abroad to order for the specially designed vehicles. If it were possible, garbage collectors could have been given that duty free facility to import those trucks. Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, I have also noted that the Minister mentioned something on diversion of vehicles on transit. It is true that there has been a tendency to divert vehicles which are on transit. Those vehicles are destined for our neighbouring countries. Diversion of vehicles is mainly because some of our vehicles here are highly taxed compared to our neighbouring countries where the duty imposed on such vehicles is low. So, our people prefer to order those vehicles from Dubai or Singapore and signify that they are destined to our neighbouring countries but end up here. The Minister should have reduced duty on big trucks. Sometimes people even go to Uganda to buy those big trucks which are initially imported from abroad. However, the duty in Uganda allows those people there to import them. Here, there is huge duty imposed on the big trucks and that is where the problem is. The Minister said that people have to pay taxes within a period of 14 days and registration must be within, I think, 30 days. I think that will not help so much because the duty is the problem. It should be reduced as far as those big trucks are concerned. This being my first speech in this Tenth Parliament, I beg to support the Motion on Taxation Proposals."
}