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"id": 226775,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/226775/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Wetangula",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 210,
"legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Motion is a follow-up of issues that have been discussed on this Floor before. There is a Public Investments Committee (PIC) report that went deep into the issues of this cashewnuts factory. That report even recommended persons who are culpable and who could have been prosecuted. The facts I know about this factory, are that its management took a bank loan of Kshs40 million. However, they did not repay it. In fact, they stole the money. The Barclays Bank that had lent the money then, subsequently, in a most unsatisfactory and non- transparent manner, auctioned the factory to an Indian at about Kshs56 million or so. These events occurred in the late 1990s or early 2000. One of the routes my colleagues from the Coast would have taken, knowing very well that setting up commissions and committees of inquiry in this House has ended up being counter-productive, because we do not have an implementation clause in any of our Standing Orders--- We pile up whatever we do and nobody follows up. If you sought proper legal advice, hon. Khamasi, you could have hired a good lawyer to go to court and invalidate that sale, because a fraudulent sale is not a sale. The person who acquired this property in that mock-auction, at Kshs56 million or thereabouts, when the property was worth much more - you should look at the PIC report--- You could have gone to court - now we are over six years which is required in civil law to go to court - to seek the leave of the court, to allow you to file a suit out of time and invalidate that fraudulent auction, and make sure that the property goes back to the rightful owners; the co-operators. For those who misappropriated the property, under the law, you can also invoke the equitable remedy of tracing, and trace all public property that is mixed with their private property, and recover it for the interest of the public. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, but having chosen a route that might end up unproductive, we will support you. This committee that you want to set up will do nothing beyond what the PIC has done. As usual, you will have no capacity to implement the outcome. We have many reports of a similar nature. But there is a greater principle here. It is not just the cashewnuts factory in this country that was handed over to individuals in circumstances that were extremely dubious, we also have the Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) that was subsequently recovered at the expense of the public, the Molasses Plant and many other factories. Tourist hotels that were owned by the Kenya Tourism Development Corporation were sold for a song by the last regime. Assets that were held in trust for the people of this country were handed over to individuals for a song. Therefore, this Parliament has a duty to broaden the inquiry that Mr. Khamisi is seeking and look at the whole broad spectrum of disposal of public assets in the last ten years or more. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, well connected persons were given assets for totally nothing! There was a milling plant in Nakuru that was handed over to a well connected person, and many others. In the cotton industry, almost all the cotton ginneries in the country were disposed of for a song to well connected persons at the expense of the public. This Parliament will be rising to its cardinal duty: To investigate the disposal of all assets after the advise from the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the Government must dispose assets quickly so that people took advantage. No valuations or bids were done and no quotations were put forward. It was just a matter of \"who-is- who can be given what\". This is not good for the country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, sometimes when we hear our colleagues singing about corruption, it reminds me of the Swahili saying: \" Nyani haoni kundule \" because it traverses both sides of our political divide. To fight this menace, as I said earlier, we need a bi-partisan approach. We need April 11, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 517 both sides of the House to stand together to correct these injustices. I want to urge hon. Khamisi that, since you have already spoken, you can engineer one of your colleagues to amend this Motion to include hon. Members from this side so that we can have a united approach to help you recover this factory. But more importantly, you may choose to look at the legal avenue that I have freely advised you. I will send you no fee note. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I beg to support."
}