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"id": 248395,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/248395/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kirwa",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Agriculture",
"speaker": {
"id": 311,
"legal_name": "Kipruto Rono Kirwa",
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"content": " Yes, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Thank you for this opportunity to give the response on behalf of the Government. At the outset, I agree with the spirit of the debate and the Bill subject to certain proposals that I will make in the course of time. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is true that the cotton industry has declined over the period occasioned by a number of factors that militated against the production and marketing of the June 6, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1137 produce. Principal among them is the liberalisation of the sector where price controls were removed and the Cotton Board, which used to be the buyer of the last resort, was liquidated. It is for that reason that the forces of liberalised market economy took charge of the cotton industry and presided over the demise of cotton production in Kenya. It is also true that 50 per cent of this country is appropriate for the production of cotton and it happens invariably that, that particular section of the country is also where there are high incidences of poverty. It is for this reason, therefore, that we in the Ministry of Agriculture and in the Government support the spirit and intentions of the Bill for purposes of streamlining the cotton industry. Principal among the purposes that we have as the Government, is that we feel that cotton, once fully revitalised is going to address the issues of poverty, reverse the trends of poverty levels and shall also be able to give sustainable food security for the people of Kenya. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the cotton industry used to support over eight million Kenyans and we intend to revitalise it. This was close to 30 per cent of the population of this country. As a way of addressing some of the problems that militated against high cotton production and its marketing the Government, last year, put aside Kshs250 million for its revitalisation, basically to provide seeds and other support services to farmers so as to enhance production. It is for this reason that, against conventional thinking that the cotton industry has not been revitalised by this Government. Cotton production has gone up by 50 per cent from a situation where we were using 70 per cent imported cotton and 30 per cent of the cotton from local production. Since production has gone up from 30 per cent to 45 per cent, an increase of 50 per cent over a period of 18 months, it is, therefore, for this reason that we intend to have a comprehensive review of Cap 33 of the Laws of Kenya to allow for the spirit of a liberalised market economy, and address specific issues concerning the cotton industry. In December, 2004, we brought before this House a Bill, which was not debated on due to lack of time. As I said, the amendments that we intend to introduce shall be discussed at the Committee Stage. I want to seek the indulgence of my hon. colleagues to look at ways of ensuring that the amendments that we shall introduce will not curtail the spirit of the Bill. Our intention is to be cognisant of the fact that we are dealing with a liberalised market economy. We can no longer do the things that the Cotton Board used to do, and in the manner they were done, 20 years ago. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, hon. Members have raised the need for us to revitalise the regime of laws affecting various parastatals. I want to bring to the attention of the House the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture is thinking of bringing to the House an umbrella legislation to reflect the totality of changing circumstances, and also allow for ease of reference to various laws. I am saying this because the Ministry of Agriculture, and other concerned Ministries, are governed by over 101 pieces of legislation which are either obsolete, in conflict with one another, or are difficult to effectively interpret. It is for that reason that our intention, along with sister Ministries in the agricultural sector, is to bring one umbrella legislation to address the inadequacies not provided for in the current legislative regime. The intended reforms in this sector will be far- reaching and, therefore, we shall be able to inform the House about some of them at the right time. The other issue that I feel my hon. colleague, and the House at large, should be able to take note of is that experience has shown us that collection of revenues or levies is better handled by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), which is the body with the requisite capacity and personnel to deal with collection of levies. It is also our intention that this should be the case for purposes of collecting levies in the cotton subsector. There has been concern about the take-over of ginneries by private individuals all over the country. While the outcry may be something that we need to note, it is also true that most of the ginning machines are either obsolete or the technology in use is not compatible with the state of technology obtaining in the rest of the world today. It is for this reason that, instead of crying over 1138 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 6, 2006 what has happened, we need to look ahead, and see how we can improve the technology that we use for purposes of enhancing our cotton production. As you know, technology changes continuously. Therefore, technology that was appropriate 30 years ago cannot be said to be as good as it was at that time. It is for this reason that we in the Government are looking at ways and means of ensuring that what we do is meant to assist the cotton industry. The other issue that we need to note is that in 1992 the Board owed in excess of Kshs500 million to various creditors and institutions. This is a liability that needs to be brought to the attention of the Government for purposes of cleaning the balance sheet of the Cotton Board, so that the new body that will take over from the Board will deal with a new situation instead of debts owed to various institutions. It is for this reason that I want us to approach this issue, at the Committee Stage, with a lot of caution for the purposes of assisting in the revitalisation of the cotton industry. As far as other institutions are concerned, we are upbeat in trying to address problems, I as said before. We spend a lot of time looking at the future instead of digging out the past and clouding our vision for the future. These are the issues that we, in the Ministry, and Government, are looking at so as to assist the cotton industry and other sectors of the economy. As you know, for the last 100 years, cotton has been grown in Kenya, and has been a major industrial crop assisting close to eight million Kenyans. At its peak time, the industry produced 70,000 bales per year. This is a situation we want to bring back and make it even better than it was. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not want to take a lot of time. I have noted the sentiments expressed by various hon. Members on the way forward, and how we need to address the issues of poverty and unemployment. This will enable the economy of this country to improve. I will, therefore, make my contribution on behalf of the Government that, while we support the spirit of the Bill, I do hope that at the right stage, the hon. Member who moved the Bill, and other hon. Members, will listen to our side of the story, so that we produce a law that will assist the cotton industry now and in the future. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}