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{
    "id": 349945,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/349945/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 692,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Okemo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 198,
        "legal_name": "Chrysanthus Barnabas Okemo",
        "slug": "chrysanthus-okemo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also rise to support this Motion and in so doing, I would like to reflect on something. This morning, I was passing a Report of the Committee, on privatization and one of the recommendations was that the privatization of the sugar mills will be postponed until certain steps have been taken; one of which was to ensure that Sessional Paper No.12 - which we are now dealing with - has been passed. That is because no privatization makes sense if you are selling a completely worn down asset because you will get nothing for it. Therefore, one of the ways to make sure that we can get reasonable returns out of the privatization is to clean up and restructure the balance sheet. You restructure the balance sheet by writing off some of these debts. In fact, in this Paper, there are proposals to write off the loans to the extent of about kshs41 billion. I think Kshs9 billion is to be injected into buying equipment to improve the factories. There is also a proposal to make sure we write off all the taxes, land rates and penalties accompanying them so that when you look at the balance sheet, it looks attractive. That, therefore, will lead to very attractive proceeds when you privatize. My belief is that the sugarcane farmer in the sugar growing areas of Kenya has always had a raw deal. The milling companies make very hefty profits, some of them."
}