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{
    "id": 358532,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/358532/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 197,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wandayi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2960,
        "legal_name": "James Opiyo Wandayi",
        "slug": "james-opiyo-wandayi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you hon. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute. My name is Opiyo Wandayi, Member for Ugunja Constituency. Hon. Speaker, I stand to oppose this Motion in principle. First, it is because of the way in which it has been drafted. The importance of agro-based industries cannot be overemphasized. But the problem we have with these parastatals, or the Government- owned companies, so to speak, is real inefficiency and corruption; simply transferring these bodies to the county governments without looking at the root cause of the inefficiencies and corruption will be simply to transfer problems which the county governments, as currently constituted, will not be able to solve, or cope with. What I think should be prioritized is the privatization of these parastatals and similar organizations in a transparent manner. We need a process that should end up giving ownership of these parastatals to the farmers and the local communities in a way that they will feel adequately represented in these organizations. You are talking of writing off liabilities, but the Government cannot do that. To attempt to do so would basically open a pandora’s box. These parastatals currently have got a lot of debts; most of their creditors are basically the Kenya Power and Lighting Company and other private suppliers. I do not understand to what extent the Government will go towards writing off these liabilities. I wonder if it is really in the interests of the communities where these bodies exist for it to do so."
}