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"id": 226987,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Syongo",
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"legal_name": "Zaddock Madiri Syong'oh",
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"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was discussing the issue of water as a resource within the ACP countries. A resource that also limits their capacity to produce livestock, crops through irrigation and generally improve the welfare of the citizens of the ACP countries. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is an issue which some Members attempted to bring to the table under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) discussions as well as the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) negotiations with the European Union (EU). It was the question of privatisation of water services in urban centres. Water is an essential commodity for life. It is a commodity that should not be subjected to liberalisation and privatisation as being pushed by the EU and WTO. Moreover, water in many municipalities in ACP countries, including Kenya, is a major source of revenue for the municipalities. The moment we make the mistake of allowing the EU countries and, generally, the developed world to take over the provision and supply of water, it will be extremely dangerous for our people. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in any negotiations and discussions within the framework of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as well as World Trade Organisation (WTO), we should always resist the pressure to allow multinationals to take over the supply of water to our citizens. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are two things that I would have wished were brought onto the table when they met in both Geneva as well as Barbados. These are immigration as well as energy. Generally speaking, immigration as far as the Europeans and Americans are concerned, is seen from a security point of view. Any application for visas by citizens of the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) countries to enter the European Union (EU) is seen and looked at with suspicion. Even before you are proved to be a terrorist, they tend to think that you are one and a security risk to their countries. There is, indeed, demand for services from the citizens of the ACP countries. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as we discuss this Report this afternoon, a number of ACP country citizens, including Kenyan nurses and doctors, young men in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, are employed in Europe. They are providing legitimate and useful services to those economies and they are bringing in to our countries the much required and vital foreign exchange earnings. Mr. Osundwa has just been discussing it in his Question. Therefore, in our negotiations with EU and even our bilateral discussions with other trading partners, immigration should be considered as an economic issue and not a security issue. In fact, just as we also negotiate on a quota system for sugar exports to EU, we should also negotiate for a quota system in terms of exporting human resources, so that when they are in Europe, the basic human rights of our citizens are guaranteed by those countries in which they are working. They should retain their basic rights to come back home on holiday just like we give the April 11, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 553 expatriates who come to work for us there. Moreover, they should also retain their right to repatriate their income and invest in their home countries. This is an issue that should be taken up very seriously in all our negotiations such as with the EU. Mr. Speaker, Sir, on the issue of professionals from developing countries, we have invested heavily in them in terms of their training without due compensation. Therefore, I would urge that once they migrate to those countries, they should be allowed to repatriate back their earnings, so that we at least recover some of the investment which we make as countries and governments to train them. This is another issue that should be discussed and brought on the table in terms of our joint discussions with the EU. Mr. Speaker, Sir, high energy costs is one of the reasons why our products in Kenya, especially processed goods, remain fairly uncompetitive. Since under EPAs and WTO there is a development component, ACP countries, particularly Kenya, should actually bring on board the question of energy. We need to obtain affordable investment capital to expand our capacity to produce energy cheaply and be able to distribute it countrywide. This can, therefore, be used to increase our productivity and also give us capacity to add value to our raw materials. There is also enormous opportunity for us to invest in renewable energy such as biodiesel, wind technology, hydro and solar. Now, these are opportunities that present themselves in a forum such as bilateral discussions with EU and within the WTO framework. Therefore, I would urge our delegation that in future they should bring these particular issues of immigration and energy within the ambit of their discussions. By so doing, we can have development assistance and thereby increase our capacity to produce and add value. We can earn more from our exports to their countries. With those remarks, I beg to second."
}