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{
    "id": 305335,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/305335/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 313,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Shakeel",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 140,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed",
        "slug": "shakeel-shabbir"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support this Bill and thank hon. Mungatana for bringing it here. I wish to suggest a few amendments to the Bill. The first thing is with regard to its title. It is entitled: “Coconut Bill.” Many of us who are familiar know that there is the coconut and then there is the palm. The palm has been used for many years to produce palm oil. We have used palm oil from Malaysia and other countries. This is not covered under this Bill. I hope we will change the name to cover coconut and palm because we have palm trees in Kenya. We are now in the process of having palm plantations here. They are from the same family. I think it will be proper if we include palm. As you know, Uganda has taken on this palm industry. It is developing palm in very many areas. As I speak right now, some of the largest manufacturers of oil like Bidco and others have palm plantations. In Malaysia, you can go for hundreds of miles and find palms on both sides of the road. So, that is my first comment. I urge hon. Mungatana to consider including the palm tree in this Bill. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when you go to Seychelles, Malaysia and Indonesia, you cannot even take out a product of coconut or palm. Whether it is coco demer which looks like two coconuts and is very inviting, you cannot take it out of those countries. Yet, in this country, you will see coconuts and palms being taken in dhows to Middle East and India to be processed and sent back to us here at very exorbitant prices. I think that is one of the things that are indigenous. It is our property and we must maintain it. I wonder whether the coconut tree is protected in the same way that an indigenous tree is protected in this country. If it is not, then we need to make some amendments to cover that. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, coconut, palm and its products have been covered very well. I was wondering whether medicinal and herbal uses are covered extremely tightly in this Bill. That is because we know what is happening. Even now, when we are in the genetically modified organisms era--- I was attending a lecture yesterday by a very eminent Kenyan Scientist called Calistus Juma who was talking about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and what they call Biological Technology (BT). He told us that some medical companies have realized that they can now genetically modify or take advantage of those chemicals produced by certain plants which have, for years, been used for herbal treatment. We may not at that time have known what the particular chemicals were, but we knew that the plants would treat “A”, “B” and “C”. So, we need to make sure that we are covered on that aspect. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of mnazi is also very clear. I know that it is part and parcel of the product, but mnazi, which is also called Todi, which is the"
}