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"id": 245073,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/245073/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Finance",
"speaker": {
"id": 174,
"legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
"slug": "amos-kimunya"
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"content": " Mr. Chairman, Sir, let me start by thanking the hon. Members for their contributions and especially in terms of concurrence with all the broad taxation proposals with a few clarifications that may be required from myself. I want to address those clarifications now. July 4, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1799 Mr. Chairman, Sir, sweet as sugar is, the sugar issue has become sour or hot, but we have another five months to go through it, understand it and see exactly where we are coming from. We want to save the farmer by making sure there is enough money going to the farmer for development of the sugar industry. We also want to save the consumer from paying an extra 7 per cent in addition to the 7 per cent paid by the sugar producer. We want to save our industries from paying unnecessarily higher rates on sugar and then making them uncompetitive within the region. So, all in all, the measure we are taking is to achieve a win-win situation for the farmer, factories and end-consumer of sugar. When we work it out and every one understands it, you will see that in the end our sugar producers will still get enough money that they require for their development, and our consumers will pay less. The fear that has been expressed that imported sugar will be less expensive is something that I can promise this House and the Committee that we will protect our sugar-growing industries, expand them further and make sure that at no time will the imported sugar be more competitively priced than the locally produced sugar, because we will be failing in our duty if we do not protect the local farmer. I think I can give you that assurance, that I will be working on that in the course of the next five months, and we will meet and demonstrate to you how we intend to achieve that. Mr. Chairman, Sir, the other issue which has caused a bit of confusion is the fuel levy. I think we all agree, whether we are talking at the national or constituency level, that we need good motorable roads. The punishment our vehicles are getting is too much. Right now, the beneficiaries are not ourselves as road users but the traders in spare parts and manufacturers of cars to whom we have to keep on going for new shock absorbers every time we make a trip upcountry. We want to reduce that cost in the long-term so that our children will not go through what we are going through. Like I said last time, we have delayed in our road maintenance programme by about 11 years. If we can increase the funding towards road maintenance by Kshs5 billion per year, we will cut short that road maintenance programme from 11 years to just about six years, which means in six years' time, we will have better roads across the country and the sacrifices must be done now. I think it is not too expensive to ask every Kenyan to add an extra Kshs3.20 per litre. It is unfortunate that the traders are taking advantage of this, coupled with the lack of a consumer organisation, to charge us more. However, as leaders, if we can concentrate on educating the people and fighting for the reduction in transport costs, then we will get money for roads and at the same time affordable roads. Mr. Chairman, Sir, the other thing I want to clarify is the zero-rating on wheat flour. I have done this to make it in tandem with the maize flour so that people can have their chapati and bread at affordable prices. Again, it is in our interest to make sure that we promote local production of wheat so that we can have more people employed and more of our own wheat getting to the table and not imported wheat. We are taking care of that through the duties that we impose. Mr. Chairman, lastly, on the insurance and the brokers, it is in our interest to develop the insurance industry and I did promise earlier that we will be bringing here legislation on creating the new Insurance Regulatory Authority, which will bring normalcy in terms of the underwriters, brokers and agents. One of the measures we are taking with regard to brokers is to reduce their number. We want to make sure that the money given is insulated from not getting to the underwriter, which then raises the total cost for the whole industry. That is why I am proposing cash and carry on the very \"hot\" products like vehicles and fire insurance. Mr. Chairman, Sir, in terms of the kind of guarantee we require, we want the brokers to graduate to where they can sustain guarantees of up to Kshs5 million. We will be giving them 18 months within which to build up that amount. Those who are doing small business and do not want to do brokerage work, we are giving them an opportunity of turning into agents by freeing the limitations that were there on the agents. 1800 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 4, 2006 Mr. Chairman, Sir, I believe I have covered the areas that required clarification. Let me thank hon. Members for this historical occasion of clearing the tax proposals within the first Allotted Day because I believe we had simplified them. I hope by the time we come to the Finance Bill, we will clear it as fast as possible and get to other issues that we need to tackle in this House. Mr. Chairman, Sir, with those---"
}