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{
    "id": 419085,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/419085/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 128,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kobado",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2964,
        "legal_name": "John Owuor Onyango Kobado",
        "slug": "john-owuor-onyango-kobado"
    },
    "content": "The sugar-cane sub-sector is on the verge of collapse. The main concerns of stakeholders in this sub-sector include high cost of production, financing cane development and influx of cheap sugar imports into the country. Among the goods and services that we want to request to qualify for zero-rating should be sugarcane transportation. The sugar industry is doing very badly, and the Government is just watching. Sugar millers in the western Kenya region have huge stock piles of unsold produce in their warehouses. The local market is currently flooded with cheap sugar. The sugar is not really from the COMESA quota. It is damped in Kenya from countries like Somalia, India, Brazil and lately, Pakistan. The importers do not pay taxes on these commodities. The commodities do not even meet the quality standards of Kenya. They do not pay taxes to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). They are not inspected by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). Indeed, the commodities are unfit for human consumption. Sugar is finding its way into the Kenyan market via unscrupulous traders who are working in cahoots with sugar barons. The sugar barons are people in high positions in Government. So, the extension of the COMESA window, which we thought would rescue the sugar industry, is just the first step towards saving the industry. We need to go beyond just providing safeguards through COMESA. There is need to deal with the issue of illegal importation of sugar because it is basically killing the local sugar industry. We cannot remain competitive because the sugar importers are not paying taxes. Our local sugar industry is doing badly in terms of high production costs. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}