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"speaker_name": "Mr. Mungatana",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to also add my support to this Bill and make a few remarks. First and foremost, I want to congratulate hon. Dr. Ojiambo for bringing this Bill here. I also want to thank people who have supported her to ensure that this Bill reaches where it has reached right now. To me, this is yet another shining star amongst our lady legislators. It is hats off for Dr. Ojiambo from all of us who are watching her efforts from the sides. Congratulations, Dr. Ojiambo! We want you to make sure that this Bill passes as soon as possible. 3930 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 23, 2006 Having said that, I want to agree with previous speakers, that, indeed, the health consciousness of the Kenyan people has changed. If you wake up in the morning, as I do, and go to the fields, you will find many people in our health clubs jogging and taking long walks with their wives and children. If you go to health clubs you will find many Kenyans in our gymnasiums, exercising and keeping fit both in the mornings and evenings. The Health Club Members of this House are no exception. We have many active hon. Members who exercise their bodies in our common gymnasium here. The nation's health consciousness has risen. I want to make this point yet again. If you go outside, you will see that we have had the Standard Chartered Bank-sponsored marathon now running for the fourth year. Every Kenyan knows that every year we have a marathon. I want to thank the Standard Chartered Bank for contributing to our health in its own way. We are now looking forward to the \"Women Run\", which is going to take place on 2nd December, 2006. All these activities point to the fact that Kenyans have seriously become aware of their health and how to take care of themselves. This is combined with the attitude towards our foods and what we eat. I want to congratulate Dr. Ojiambo for bringing this Bill to this House at an absolutely opportune time. We say many times that prevention is better than cure. There is no better way to prevent diseases than to eat properly. It is crucial for us, as a nation, to invest in the regulation and growth of the dieticians' and nutritionists' profession. We should recognise this profession of dieticians and nutritionists in this country. There is no better way of doing this than to bring a Bill that will specifically deal with it. I think this is a very good thing and we will support it. As the hon. Member of Parliament for Garsen Constituency, and also a person who is quite interested in health matters, I want to note that when you go to supermarkets today you will see a lot of vitamin tablets. You will see a lot of natural health foods. You will see small shops and some supermarkets selling natural foods that do not have any side effects. But the people who make such multi-vitamin tablets and natural foods have not been registered in this country as nutritionists or dieticians. So, we just depend on faith when we buy such tablets. This is because we have probably read that such tablets can help. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have the GNLD and Tianshi health products movements. We do not know the qualifications of the people who make these health products that come from outside the country. We are not doubting that they have helped a number of people in this country. However, this country does not have them as registered nutritionists and dieticians. We are just living by faith. I think it is crucial that we pass this Bill as soon as possible. This will discourage those who are not qualified in their own countries from selling to us well labelled placibles. When these products come to this country from some other country, such as the Far East, South Africa or Europe, people just buy them, believing in the marketing gimmicks rather than the facts of the matter. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think it is crucial that the functions of the proposed Board, as suggested under Clause 6, should be the registration of all nutritionists who will be operating in the market in this country. This should not exclude any products. When this law becomes operational, we should put in it a provision on a serving period. Nutritionists behind the manufacturing and sale of products that are in the country right now must obtain licenses in this country. Then, as a nation, we will know that what we are consuming is proper and acceptable by our standards. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other function that I think is crucial, but is not reflected in Clause 6, is the propagation of a campaign for nutritional changes in this country. This must be given as a function of this Board, supported by the Government. Why do I say so? I say this because in our country we have different traditions and types of food depending on where you November 23, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3931 come from. People need to be told that some of the staple foods they eat need to be mixed with something else for them to be healthy. So, if people are used to eating meat in the morning and in the evening, the Board should do radio campaigns to say that some of these things need to be done this way or that way. When talking about the Pokomo, we like eating certain things. However, we also need to say, \"combine that with this or that and that\". In this way, people's traditions can start being changed for the health of this nation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I could not agree more with the suggestion that standards need to be set by this Board, not just in the countryside but even in schools, colleges and institutions of higher learning. When we were in high schools some of our foods were laced with paraffin. We were told it was good because it controlled certain things which normally existed at that time. We want this Board to come out very clearly and set standards. It should say what should eaten in high schools. The same way we have matrons in boarding schools, we should also have nutritionists employed and paid by the institutions. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, even in some of our primary schools, we should have standards because it is not uncommon to have hawkers and vendors selling sweets in schools during break time. We know these sweets create hyper-activity in pupils. We need to have standards set, so that correct foods are sold and correct eating habits are practised even in primary schools. People should not just be allowed to sell chips and chicken every day in our schools. By allowing this, we are not creating a healthy nation. I think setting of standards is one of the functions that need to come under this proposed Board. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if these improvements can be made, I trust that this Bill will be crucial for the nation. It has come at the right time. It is the kind of law that has come at the right time. As a House, we need to support it and take the shortest time possible to pass it unanimously. This is, of course, subject to any other changes that might be brought to improve it. I want to fully support it. Thank you Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir."
}