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{
    "id": 393786,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/393786/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 197,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "! That is the problem we have. However, we must, somehow buy from China. The Chinese know that the products they are selling here are cheap and useless. However, they sell them anyway. A Chinese man told me that there is no country in the world where one can become a millionaire faster than Kenya. This is because they sell cheap things at a very good price and Kenyans seem to like them. That is why the Chinese do not go anywhere. That is why they are giving us loans so that we start liking them. The bottom line is that Kenya seems to be the best market for the Chinese people. Just look at paper that we used to produce in this country. We destroyed our own industry and after we destroyed it, we did not reinvest in it. If you look at what destroyed that industry, you will see that it is because we did not reinvest in it. The cost of electricity and other inputs went up until it went under. We have been trying to bring it back but it will never come back. We must put in place an enabling environment that can attract somebody who has some money to put an industry in Kenya. If he will set it up here in Kenya and compete with cheap paper from India and China, he will not succeed. He would rather set it up in India or China where electricity and transport costs are cheaper and where the market is larger. The only reason he would put it in Kenya is if he knew that he would benefit from it. This can happen if one is protected and if buying Kenyan is guaranteed. I have listened to my colleagues; the bottom line where we must start is that we must buy Kenyan. We will not slander mere about it for too long. We will make a law in this House that for all procurement purposes, certain things must be made in Kenya. Imagine we are buying shoes for our army from China. A policeman told me that when you really stand at attention, they break into pieces. Bata has the best shoes in the world. We are selling these shoes all over the world. It is our own industry and we are killing it. It is the best industry for shoes for our children but we are killing it and yet we do not care. Bata used to employ many people. The Government is the largest business partner in any country. Once business goes to China and other countries, then people will have no business. I want to talk about cotton with a little passion because it is grown in my area. Some of the best and longest cotton lint comes from Lake Victoria. We were doing very well because we had something we could take to the market as a cash crop. Now, we do not. Any community that does not have a cash crop is poor. How can you save money? You can only save money in a cash crop which you can take later to the market, get some lumpsum money and use it to pay school fees. That is how we lost it. 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."
}