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"id": 206416,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/206416/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Kajwang",
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"speaker": {
"id": 164,
"legal_name": "Gerald Otieno Kajwang",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. This is a Motion which should have come to this House 35 years ago. It has come to the House 35 years late. In 1972, before I even started reading economics, Kenya was already debating the idea of creating the capacity to produce power alcohol, which is alcohol that would be used to drive engines. It would be clean fuel which would not hurt our environment, but which would be cheap enough for our pockets. That would create jobs and empower our farmers. It would have multiplier effect in this country. That was being debated 35 years ago. It took so many years for a professor to come to Parliament to remind this country that we are sleeping on our opportunities. We have a big opportunity to produce much more fuel than is produced in Dubai, or Saudi Arabia, but we do not want to use it. This country is endowed with good climate for sugar-cane production. Even in areas where the environment is harsh, like Tana River District in Coast Province, we have the River Tana, which flows into the Indian Ocean, with vast quantities of water, which could be used to irrigate land, and we could produce enough power alcohol in this country to drive our car engines. About 15-20 years ago, we used to have, in our petrol stations, fuel called \"gasohol\". Gasohol was a mixture of petroleum products and alcohol. It used to drive our engines very efficiently. It was cheaper for this country, because we did not have to import so much petroleum products. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we forgot about gasohol because some people make money from importing crude oil and finished petroleum products. Some businessmen influence our policies in this country, regardless of whether they hurt our economy, because that benefits them. That is why we forgot about gasohol. The United States of America (USA) has realised that it will have to cut down its dependence on petroleum products from the Middle East. So, the USA has to produce power alcohol. Since the USA cannot produce as much sugar-cane as the small Island of Cuba can, or as Kenya would, they are producing it from maize, which is, of course, supposed to be food for both animals and human beings. They even import maize from Haiti. In fact, this year Haiti had to import maize. They buy it at such a good price that Haiti must just sell the maize to the USA. Then Haiti has to find ways of feeding its own citizens. There is a morality problem with that. However, the gist of the matter is that the USA has realised that it must produce power alcohol to blend it with its petroleum products in order to cut down on its dependence on the Middle East oil, and also cut down on costs of running their engines. If there is a country that really needs to cut down on these costs, I think it is Kenya more than the USA. Kenya needs all the dollars that it gathers from wherever. We need to preserve that dollar here and do other things with it, rather than buy petroleum products. We need to substitute our power alcohol for petroleum products. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if we were to produce power alcohol from Muhoroni Sugar Company, Sony Sugar Company, Nzoia Sugar Company and Miwani Sugar Company, which is now lying idle with 10,000 hectares of unutilised land, we would produce enough money to import all the table sugar that we need and still remain with lots of dollars. We would even cut down on the cost of running our engines by more than 30 per cent. We would empower our farmers and businessmen. There would still be more power to run towns. I do not know why the leadership of Kenya never dreams. We only dream of ukarabati . We only dream of repairing and fixing this August 29, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3549 and that, and then say that we are developing. After doing some potholes and some mtaro, we say that we are development conscious. We are not imaginative! We could go far away. If Sudan, which is located in a desert, can export to us sugar, is it not a shame? Kenya, with a better climate and much more water can produce its own power alcohol! We do not have to beg Sudan or Nigeria, as inefficient as it is, to provide us with fuel. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me talk about the monopoly of power generation and distribution in this country. Why should I not produce some power from some stream in my village, if I want, and sell it to schools, shops and whoever wants it? Why must it be that the only person who is allowed to generate power in this country and sell it is KenGen? Why must it be that when I produce power I must sell it to the national grid? What is the myth about this national grid business, if it is not just monopoly for the sake of monopoly? I thought that this country was moving out of monopoly? I thought that this country was opening up to business people and investors to do whatever they want to do, as long as it is not illegal. Why do we make it illegal? For example, the water of River Yala, which passes near St. Mary's High School, Yala, used to produce power before Independence. That power, which was produced by use of small turbine used to supply St. Mary's High School, Yala, with power. On top of that, the same power was used to pump water from the river to Yala Township and to St. Mary's High School, Yala. It broke down. When hon. Donde came to this House, he wanted to revive it so that, at least, it could work again. It could generate that small amount of power, which would be used to pump water in Gem Constituency. Hon. Donde was told that he could not do it. He was told that power had to be sold to the national grid. Of course, if you were to sell power to the national grid, it was only KenGen or Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) which should buy it from you. If they say they are not entering into a contract with you, then you waste that potential. What happened such that the"
}