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{
    "id": 47068,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/47068/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 366,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Shakeel",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 140,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed",
        "slug": "shakeel-shabbir"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to strictly stick to three minutes. Since Independence to date, there are less than seven or eight sugar factories in this Kenya of ours. Even those in existence are totally inefficient; they include Mumias Sugar Company. The sugar-cane is quite hopeless. It takes 18 months to mature and we have that little thing. In other countries like Libya, I am told, cane matures every nine months. The sucrose content of that cane is three times more than our sugarcane. One of the things we have to do is to dig out all the old cane. I do not know why in the Report this has not been covered. The other thing is the question of zoning. Zoning is anti-competition. We are talking about a liberalised economy yet we are zoning. Zoning is definitely out. We have been supporting inefficient industries like Webuye, Miwani, Muhoron Sugar factories and others Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other matter of great concern is that in Muhoroni, the receiver, out of an income of Kshs4 million, takes Kshs2.5 million every month. I urge the Minister to just close that factory down, because we are not getting anything, especially the farmers. Finally, 18 months before the farmers are paid, the sugar factories have sold the sugar nearly four times. There is one factory on the boundary of my constituency which pays Kshs3,500 cash on the spot for a tonne of cane. Others are complaining; they have formed a cartel and come to the Minister to stop that person from paying Kshs3,500 cash. This factory, Kibos, is prepared and is bringing in sugarcane from even as far as Migori. Why are they being stopped from doing this when they are paying people a good amount of cash? Finally is the issue of weighing sugarcane at the gate; there have always been complaints that weighing it at the gate is very expensive. It is totally wrong and misleading. You can weigh it at the gate; it is not a very expensive exercise to get that weighing machine. I think that is one thing the Report should have covered. Finally, the Report has not covered the trailers. Those trailers have killed many people on the main roads and on the side roads. I do not understand why they do not have lights. There is totally no compliance with the Traffic Act. Even if it is on a murram road, or a farming area, it must have lights on, and it must be driven with caution. The trailers must not be overloaded so much that they carry one and a half times their capacity. With those few remarks, I support."
}