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"id": 195310,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Mugo",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Public Health and Sanitation",
"speaker": {
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"legal_name": "Beth Wambui Mugo",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to support the Motion on the Floor. I wholeheartedly support the Consumer Protection Bill proposed by the hon. Member. I remember we discussed a Motion that sought to introduce this Bill in the last Parliament, which I also supported. It is unfortunate that it did not materialise because of the nature of the House business where, due to several urgent Bills, other less important ones do not make it to the House. I do not think that is lack of support by Parliament or the relevant Departmental Committees because we passed it very overwhelmingly. I also want to appeal that this time we should pass it into law. It April 30, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 765 would even be much better if the Minister concerned could adopt and make it a Government Bill. We all know Government business proceeds quicker because it has a different style to make it go faster. This is quite an important Bill. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know that the consumers in this country have been terribly exploited in different fronts. Most of the time by the unscrupulous businessmen and women who want to make quick profit and get rich quickly by exploiting the consumer. A case in point is recently when we had the post-election violence in this country. Very quickly, all prices soared up for really no good reason. We are going to feel the pinch of what happened right now. At that time, we could not feel it because the supplies had been imported and were still in the shops. It is that kind of problem that makes the consumers very vulnerable because they will go and buy whatever is available at that time. Therefore, the Bill that will be developed should have very clear guidelines. Whereas we cannot put controls as we are part of the global liberalisation of prices, we still must find a way of protecting our consumers. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, another case in point is our illiterate or not so educated communities and people, especially the women across the country who cannot read for themselves. A lot of foodstuffs and drugs find their way into the supermarkets when they have already expired. They can be very dangerous to the consumer. Sometimes they are put on sale. So, one comes and quickly buys everything there because it is on sale. We need very strict protection and stiff penalties imposed on traders of this kind. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in my Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation under which food and nutrition falls, we are reviewing the laws. We will also review the Public Health Act to see where we need to tighten, so that we shall be prosecuting such traders who take advantage of our people. It is possible, but also on this Consumer Protection Bill, we should have a component of education and information, so that the consumers can be informed and educated on their rights and dangers so that they can support the Ministry in that area to do its work. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, also the officers who are supposed to be watching out for expired goods must know that there will be very strict surveillance. What happens is that sometimes some of them are bribed with small amounts of money and they let the traders off the hook. So, all of us need to tighten this law which guards against the exploitation of our people. The Consumer Protection Bill will go a long way in achieving that. My Ministry will strongly support this Bill. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is also very disheartening when we saw the other day the District Commissioner for Nairobi North on the city streets with these very dirty magazines which are full of pornography which are exploiting our children, especially our unsuspecting teenagers. They go there and buy such magazines. When this Motion is adopted and becomes a Bill, it should have strong laws against pornography. Anyone found exposing our people, and especially our young people, to pornography should be dealt with very strictly. I commend the District Commissioner for the good work she has done. I wish other law enforcement agencies could do the same. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is also the question of water. There are many people who peddle water in our estates. They do a good job because there is shortage of water in our estates most of the time. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation and that of Public Health and Sanitation should ensure that such water is clean for consumption. We can lower prevalence of diseases that affect our people and their frequency to go to hospitals, if we can control what water is consumed. All the water does not need to be purified by the Nairobi City Council. These days, there are easier ways of purifying water. My Ministry is looking into how we can teach our communities to use simple methods of purifying water in order to have clean water for consumption. But we must have laws that will make sure that water vendors supply clean water for drinking. We should have instructions on how you purify water. There are many areas which, as a 766 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 30, 2008 Government, we must look into to make sure that our communities are not exploited. Pricing is one of them. Just because the economy is liberalised does not mean that traders can exploit consumers by charging them highly. There must be some kind of a regulatory framework which will regulate prices of commodities. This is what the Motion proposes to provide once it is passed. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are also agricultural communities. We know that there are many chemicals such sprays, insecticides and fertilisers which are used by our farmers but our people are not taught how to use them safely. Manufacturers or traders of these chemicals must be forced by law to put instructions on how to use them safely. For instance, if the people are supposed to wear gloves, they should be told so. We must translate such instructions into languages that our people can read such as Kiswahili. This is because many of these imported chemicals, most of the time, have their instructions written in English or other languages that no one can read. Our extension workers in the Ministry of Agriculture should ensure that our people are not exposed to dangerous chemicals, be they fertilizers or sprays. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are also drugs which are prohibited in some countries, but they find their way into this country. Of course, being in the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, that is one of the areas we will be looking into very careful. With those few remarks, I very strongly support the introduction of Consumer Protection Bill."
}