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"id": 253015,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Oparanya",
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"id": 201,
"legal_name": "Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister has said that shareholders in western Kenya have off-loaded their shares. They are not doing it willingly. They are doing it as a result of poverty. A lot of money was paid as bonuses, but it did not reach the farmers. If you compare that with coffee and tea, bonus is paid on quantity delivered. We are saying that the same practice should apply to the sugar industry. Farmers should be paid bonuses depending on the quantity of sugar-cane delivered to factories, and not shareholding. That is what is happening everywhere. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Government is the main shareholder in the sugar industry. The Minister has said that improving the sugar industry needs the efforts of all of us. But how does he say that when he knows that the Government is the major shareholder in all those companies? The Government is the controller. The Government is everything. We are saying that it is the responsibility of this Government to make sure that the sugar industry is improved for the benefit of farmers. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am happy to note that the Sugar Development Levy has been increased. The Minister said that they are now collecting Kshs1.5 billion every year. That money is supposed to go back to the farmers via the millers. I would be glad to know how much of that money has gone to each of the millers in the region. We have Mumias Sugar Company, Nzoia Sugar Company and Chemelil Sugar Company. I would be very glad to know how much money has gone to each of them. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is my prayer that, come the next Budget, the Minister for Finance should zero-rate Value Added Tax (VAT) in the sugar industry. That will make it possible for farm inputs like fertilizers, seeds and tractor spare parts to be cheaper. Tractors are zero-rated, but VAT is charged on the spare parts! I am happy to hear Mr. Wetangula say that Mumias Sugar Company can produce electricity. But it cannot do that because of the bad laws that we have. The law says that, when power is produced, it must be sold to the national grid. When Mumias Sugar Company tried to produce electricity, it was owned 100 per cent by the Government. The Government was offering to pay Kshs2 per one kilowatt of power, instead of 13 per cent. But on the contrary, it was offering 13 per cent to independent power producers, which have nothing to do with the Government. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the sugar industry has suffered because of financing arrangements. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the sugar companies that are not operating well owe the Sugar Development Levy (SDF) over Kshs4 billion. At the same time these companies are owned by the Government. So, instead of the Government helping the farmers it is financing itself through the SDF. I request the Minister for Agriculture to make sure that the money owed to the SDF by the various millers is paid back. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have the outgrowers who are mismanaging this industry and it is unfortunate that the Minister for Agriculture has not addressed the issue of outgrowers. They are insolvent and have incompetent managers and they keep on making losses which are passed on to the farmers. 550 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 19, 2006 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need credit to be able to help our farmers. It is important that we have an arrangement where farmers have access to credit. I have never known a business where you cannot control your costs nor prices. So, the farmer is at the mercy of the Government. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion fully and I hope that the Minister will implement it. I beg to move."
}