Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 225647,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/225647/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 140,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kirwa",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Agriculture",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 311,
        "legal_name": "Kipruto Rono Kirwa",
        "slug": "kipruto-kirwa"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. These are the measures the Ministry has undertaken to address the issue of the expiry of COMESA safeguard measures:- (i) We have improved on corporate governance in the industry. (ii) We have reduced interest lending rates on Sugar Development Levy (SDL) from 10 per cent to 5 per cent. (iii) We have waived accrued interest and penalties on SDL amounting to Kshs4.7 billion. (iv) We have lent over Kshs3.5 billion to the industry for the last four years. (v) We have retired all farmers' arrears amounting to Kshs2.3 billion, of which Kshs1.15 billion was disbursed through the Kenya Sugar Board. (vi) We have also stepped up research funding from 5 per cent to 1 per cent of all the collected revenues from the SDL. (vii) We want to finalise a Sessional Paper and a Cabinet Memo on the revitalisation of the sugar industry for presentation to the Cabinet for consideration and restructuring of the entire industry. (viii) enhance credit accessibility to sugar-cane farmers through direct lending by the AFC. (ix) through Kenya Sugar Board funding; individual companies are undertaking factory modernisation to improve on the efficiency to the required benchmark standards. Finally, we have sought the support of the EU through the ACP-EU Sugar Protocol for funding of the industry projects to make it competitive, focusing on the following areas:- (i) diversification of product base; (ii) infrastructure development; (iii) privatisation of the said companies; and, (iv) research."
}