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{
    "id": 392127,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/392127/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 140,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Machage",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 179,
        "legal_name": "Wilfred Gisuka Machage",
        "slug": "wilfred-machage"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I refuse to agree with one statement from the Senate Majority Leader, that in this House we should not complain but only talk of constructive things. We will complain when the Jubilee Coalition Government is failing and it is failing in many issues which we will complain about. We can only use the Floor of the House to complain when they are failing. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is not possible and it is known that it is difficulty really to move from a third world to a second or a first world country through engaging in agriculture alone; we must go into industry. But as we try to enhance production of these cash crops, we must think in terms of industrialization and hence think in terms of value- addition to whatever we produce. It is naïve that we produce our coffee, it goes to Britain and we import it back as Nescafe at a higher cost. That beats whatever profits we might have achieved. It is naïve for the little cotton that we produce to be exported and then we have to import linen into this country. These are some of the policies that we want to see the Government come up with to protect not only the level of production, but for value addition and to protect how much the farmer has to earn after this production has been done. If you look at crops like tobacco, the farmer in the village is paid about Kshs80 per kilogramme of tobacco whereas that kilogramme of tobacco will produce nearly 100 packets of cigarettes. Who therefore gets more profit? It is all exported in the form of foreign exchange to other countries other than this country. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}