Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 392172,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/392172/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 185,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, this is the sad scenario of our primary producers – whether they are livestock, coffee or tea farmers; you name it! I think we, as leaders, should really address this issue of exploitation of our primary producers, and that is why they are so demotivated. That is why they end up uprooting the coffee trees. So, I really would like to congratulate Sen. Muthama for bringing up this issue. But I think this issue of exploitation needs to be addressed as an issue on its own because it cuts across the board. In fact, that is what we need to do. So, Madam Temporary Speaker, I would really like to support this one small thing before I leave – the issue of the new Bill; the Alpha Bill. I was the Minister for Livestock and we were at loggerheads with the Minister for Agriculture then because of this bundling of laws into one and, therefore, creating confusion. This Alpha Bill needs to be relooked at, where all the laws are put together. Of course, the consolidation of laws is very important, but sometimes inside there, a lot of sub-sectors that had matured and grown will be stifled, and some of them will really lose relevance. I would like us to look at that Alpha Bill and speak to it and see how to improve on it because even right now on the ground, there is a lot of resistance. All the farmers’ organizations are up in arms and it is causing a lot of confusion; and it can actually lead to a lot of negative impact on the production by our farmers. I refused and I actually deleted ‘livestock’ out of it; livestock is now on its own and they are having their own laws that are operating. Of course, the Bill has been refined and a lot of additions have been made. I knew that Bill will not and cannot be implementable on the ground, and that is why I plucked out ‘livestock.’ But I think we still have the opportunity – we are still lawmakers – and we need to look at that law and improve on it. With those few remarks, Madam Temporary Speaker, I beg to support."
}