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"id": 208551,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/208551/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Waithaka",
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"speaker": {
"id": 223,
"legal_name": "Mwangi Kirika Waithaka",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I would like to support this Motion which says in part: \"THAT, this House do grant leave to introduce a Bill for an Act of Parliament to repeal the Restrictive Trade Practices, Monopolies and Price Control Act (Cap.504 of the Laws of Kenya)---\" By the look of the wording of the Act itself; \"The Restrictive Trade Practices,\" you will see that this Act was enacted with a view to restricting certain trades which were not in the interest of those who are influential. That was the purpose of those who enacted this piece of legislation. Therefore, to encourage monopoly and price control, so that--- As it has been rightly said by Mr. Munya, the main objective of capitalist is to maximise on profits and not to enrich on what they sell to the consumer. I would wish to caution that--- Many contributors who have spoken have said that different companies do certain things at certain levels. For example, Mr. Munya said that when you are in the manufacturing sector, you cannot carry out transportation business. That is correct. However, unless we deal with our Company Law, you will find different companies carrying out different roles, when those companies are owned by a single person. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we had an incident of that nature in the coffee industry in this country, whereby the coffee agents, those who purchased the coffee, the marketers and the end buyers were companies owned by the same person. So, unless we are able to lift the veil and understand who is the owner of these companies, we may enact laws in this House without realising that these businessmen and operators are so evasive that they are able to hide under the Companies Law. It is time we amended our Company Law so that we do not have the same operators operating different companies. We need to ensure that every company has its own legal entity and personality, different from its owners. With that kind of definition, you can do business with different companies. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, sometimes, competition is necessary. I will give an example. In the 1990s, most of us were chased away from the Barclays Bank because we did not have the minimum deposits of more than Kshs10,000. Some of us even got refunds. I will give a personal experience. I was refunded Kshs8,000 in a cheque, because that was my balance. I was 3198 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 15, 2007 told that I did not qualify to be a depositor with the Barclays Bank of Kenya. These days, they are writing to us several letters so that we can open accounts with them. They are saying that their minimum balance is almost zero because of the competition they are facing from Equity Bank and other banks. So, when there is an open market and competition; when we do not support monopolies, things are likely to work for the better of the common mwananchi . This Motion, by hon. Sungu, has come at the most appropriate time. It is well intended and it will assist our people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, someone has talked about the textile industry and the importation of second-hand vehicles which has killed our local industries. You have seen what monopolies can do. They were even, either three or four years ago, able to buy a company which was called Castle Brewing Kenya Ltd. and closed the factory. Notwithstanding how many people were employed, the East African Breweries bought the company and closed it with all its investments. The East African Breweries knew that they would reap what they had invested in the purchase of that factory from the prices of beer they would impose because there are no restrictive laws. That is a very clear example of what hon. Munya was saying; that they can even review their prices for a period of five years to kick out the \"small man\" in the business. When the \"small man\" in the business is kicked out, they can then raise their prices and recover what they have lost in the five years. An example of that is the East African Breweries which bought the Castle Brewing Kenya Ltd. a very big investment. That could have been in collusion with the investors. That factory has now been closed for many year and workers lost their benefits. This is a very important Motion, and if a Bill is eventually passed, it will control the situation. As it has been stated, when we are dealing with a liberalised economy, like ours, where prices are determined by the market; the law of supply and demand, the person who ends up suffering is the consumer. Producers and investors can hoard goods so that they create a shortage. When there is shortage, prices are likely to go up because they are determined by the law of supply and demand. When the supply is low and demand is high, the prices are likely to keep moving upwards. We need a law, in a liberalised economy like this one, that will support the consumers. At the end of the day, as hon. Angwenyi has said, this being the National Assembly, and equating it with the House of Commons, we should always be speaking for the interest of the commoners and the people of this country. This is a very good Motion and I strongly support it. Thank you."
}