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{
    "id": 318337,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/318337/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 489,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, when the Assistant Minister was seconding this Bill, he talked of a Privatization Commission which has to do some work that would give this industry to farmers, but I do not think he had gone through this Bill. This is because what is coming out clearly, quickly looking at this Bill, on page 1728 under Clause 18, is that the Bill has carefully removed Clause 30. In the original Bill, it is Clause 30 that was meant to give farmers a 51 per cent majority shareholding. But according to the Bill as currently drafted, it has clearly removed Clause 30 which had given farmers 51 per cent shareholding and given them more authority than other investors in the management of sugar factories. I would like in the Committee of the Whole House to propose amendments so that we can, again, take back the sugar factories to farmers because what was missing in this clause was the representation of farmers on the board of these sugar factories. For example, when Mumias Sugar Company was being privatized, farmers were just given a few shares. Those shares were not even managed by a number of the board members who were supposed to have been on the board to manage the percentage of those shares on behalf of farmers. So, I would like to propose amendments because this is where we will see the hand of barons coming in. The biggest problem we have had in this sector, especially for Mumias Sugar Company, is the way the board members have managed this privatization exercise. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, you will realize that we have had the issue of sugar cane pricing. This is an exercise that had been left to the management of the factory alone. From the way the top management of the factories is constituted; farmers will not receive a fair hearing. This is an area that we will need to amend, so that the 51 per cent of the ownership of the factory must be taken back to the farmers, so that they have a say in whatever happens in the running of the factory. If we left it the way it is now, this is a sure way of killing the sugar industry. It is a sure way of killing the sugar industry because the privatization aspect is only on the milling part of this industry, but the production of raw material is left to farmers. So, if we would not allow farmers to play a leading role in the management of the factory, we will surely lose this industry because whatever is happening today is that there are a lot of dictatorial tendencies from the management of the factory in terms of many aspects like sugar pricing."
}