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{
"id": 245044,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/245044/?format=api",
"text_counter": 174,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dr. Khalwale",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for East African Community",
"speaker": {
"id": 170,
"legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
"slug": "bonny-khalwale"
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"content": " Mr. Chairman, Sir, I rise to support this Motion. I am, however, reminded by the Budget Speech that the broadest objective of the set of taxes that the Minister proposed was to reduce poverty and to address inequality in this country. Mr. Chairman, Sir, when you look at the Budget, its gist is such that it actually increases poverty amongst farmers and the 1786 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 4, 2006 people in estern Kenya and north rift. This is because when you shift the onus of paying the Sugar Development Levy from the consumer to the farmer the net effect is that you will find the sugarcane farmer in the position where you find the maize farmer today. We respect the Minister and he must actually listen to what we are saying. I know that, probably, he has never seen how sugar-cane looks like and that is why he is taking the issue lightly. He must listen to us. That strong appeal is the reason for me to believe that the Minister does not want to go down in the annals of history as the first Minister for Finance who deliberately killed the sugar-cane industry in Kenya. Mr. Chairman, Sir,I want to comment on the proposal by the Minister to zero-rate duty charged on baby diapers, napkins and feeding bottles. This is commendable. However, I would like to urge him to use the usual inter-Ministerial relationship to do so if his aim is to support child bearing in this country. He should also ensure maternity fees are abolished in all Government hospitals. We have many young mothers who are detained in hospitals for many weeks because they cannot clear their bills. Mr. Chairman, Sir, the Minister should be commended for removing duty on completely knocked-down kits for bicycles. Bicycles are very important in this country. So, the move by the Minister is very commendable. However, I would like to appeal to him to consider the possibility of removing duty on motor scooters. This will make work easier for the boda boda operators. Instead of using bicycles they will use \" tuk-tuks \" which are expensive at the moment because of the duty imposed on them. I am making this appeal because when we talk to those young people who are engaged in boda boda business, we find that it is not a light matter. Mr. Chairman, Sir, in fact, the wives of boda boda operators complain in the evening when they come back home because of what they are supposed to do at night. Mr. Chairman, Sir, the Minister also proposed to remove duty on energy saving bulbs. This is very good. However, I urge him to consider the possibility of removing duty on generators. He should also allow projects funded through the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) to import generators directly without paying duty. This will make the CDF projects cheaper. Mr. Chairman, Sir, the Minister also proposed to exempt Value Added Tax (VAT) on entertainment services. This is excellent and commendable. But, again, there is room for us to be sympathetic to these performing artists. There is room for the Minister to talk to his colleagues and ensure that performing artists are protected from piracy. Many of them die paupers because of piracy. Time is now for us to protect them. Mr. Chairman, Sir, it is only a few months ago when the people of western Kenya buried Mr. Jacob Luseno who had ruled the airwaves of this country for many years. But he died a pauper at 70 years old, courtesy to piracy. Mr. Chairman, Sir, finally, I would like to make a remark about the issue of the removal of road licence fees. This idea, when we follow the argument of the Minister, makes a lot of sense. But when we look at it critically, we wonder whether it was not a clever way of trying to collect more money and actually hoodwink Kenyans that they will not pay for road licence. For example, I travel to my constituency four times in a month. I spent Kshs10,000 to fuel my car. At that rate, if I am paying Kshs3.20 for road maintenance for every litre of fuel, it means that every week I will pay Kshs3,200. If we multiply that by the four times I go home in a month, it comes to Kshs12,800 per month. That adds up to Kshs153,600 per year. Mr. Chairman, Sir, given that on the same four-wheel-drive vehicle I was buying a road licence at Kshs10,000, to replace it with Kshs153,600 is a mockery of mathematics. The Minister should actually reduce the charge from Kshs3.20 to something more affordable. Mr. Chairman, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}