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{
    "id": 358539,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/358539/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 204,
    "type": "other",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Deputy Speaker, that is what we should be aiming to do with these parastatals, if they are to be beneficial to farmers and the country at large. I look forward to a situation where one day we will wake up and find Sony Sugar Company or Nzoia Sugar Company or Mumias Sugar Company being able to pay farmers adequately and on time for their deliveries, being able to provide extension services and carry out adequate research, as is done by the BAT and other companies. Another example is Kenya Breweries Limited, which has invested heavily in the growing of barley in Narok, Molo and parts of Timau. It is a very efficient process. Why can we not go that direction without bothering these nascent county governments with work they are not good at doing? Therefore, we need to look at this Motion with a view to coming up with a different Motion that will compel the Government to fast-track the process of privatising these parastatals, so that farmers can own them. The issue of corruption has to be addressed, as a matter of urgency, as we wait for the privatisation process to be completed. It has been the norm in this country for Government officials to look at parastatals as their cash cows. In the past, it was common practice for the President to summon heads of parastatals for cash to be used in his own private affairs, including political campaigns. Therefore, corruption has to be addressed, first and foremost, in these parastatals. But most importantly, we must speed up the process of privatisation to make these organisations viable before even thinking of transferring them. In any case, I do not think transferring them is an option. We should make them private, so that they can be owned by ordinary Kenyans. With those remarks, I beg to oppose."
}