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"id": 51848,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/51848/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Raila",
"speaker_title": "The Prime Minister",
"speaker": {
"id": 195,
"legal_name": "Raila Amolo Odinga",
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"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I did say at the outset of my Statement that this Statement was after extensive consultations within the Government, including His Excellency the President. So the Statement is the official Statement of the Government of Kenya. The Member for Ol Kalou, Mr. Mureithi, was concerned about the management of the value chain. In other words, Mr. Mureithi was revisiting the subject of price controls. He was saying that the Government needed to introduce the framework with which to intervene in order to control prices. However, we did say that this is now a liberalized economy, and that we will want the market to be the main determinant of prices and allocation of resources. Having said that, we are not trying to implement crude capitalism, where we say that everyone to himself or herself and God for us all. We are saying that it is a free market economy, but with a human face. The Government has the responsibility to intervene when it is necessary to ensure that the people do not suffer unduly. This is what we are dealing with. We do not want to know how you manufacture, how you import, how much it costs you to do it, so long as once you have done it, you sell it at a price that is affordable and acceptable to the people. This is what I would say in the answer to that question. We do not want to micro-manage industries and businessmen. We are more concerned with the final product that is put in the market for the people. Mr. Oyongo Nyamweya was concerned about zero-rating of maize and wheat. This is a decision that was reached after very lengthy discussions and debates. We considered the price that is prevailing right now on the international market and its stability. It is generally now accepted that the prices on the international market are not likely to go down soon given the fact, as I mentioned, the major emerging economies have become net importers of food. They are the ones which have driven the price of food that high. Therefore, we are certain that even if we do zero-rate, it would still be much more expensive to land it here in Nairobi compared to maize and wheat produced here, in which case we would avoid hurting our local farmer. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member needs to understand that the Government is concerned about the farmers; we want to ensure that they get a fair price for their produce and value for their money. At the same time the Government is also concerned about the consumer. It is the same equation. If you want to understand it, if you increase here it will increase on the other side. We are also concerned about the plight of the poor, who will suffer if the price of unga goes up. So, as we root for a better price for the farmer, I would really invite the hon. Member to also sympathize with the consumer of the same product. The Government has the responsibility to protect both, the producer and the consumer. Eng. Maina basically repeated the question which was asked by the hon. Member for Ol Kalou. It was just in different words, and about the prices of basic goods. Of course, Eng. Maina was the sponsor of the Price Control Bill, which is still hanging somewhere. I have already answered that question when I answered the question by Mr. Mureithi. Mr. Keynan was concerned about the implementation of the waiver of school fees. This was a decision which was taken after extensive consultations within the Government. Instructions were given to the Minister for Finance, together with the Minister for Education, to work out modalities of implementing that decision. I have not yet received information from the field to the contrary, that the decision has not been implemented. If that is the case, we will revisit that matter within the Government. I want the hon. Member to understand that once decisions are taken within the Government, they are supposed to be implemented. I admit that we have bureaucracy within the Government system that tends to delay implementation of certain decisions that are taken. We are working towards elimination of this bureaucracy through reforms within the Government itself. That is why we introduced the system of performance contracting, so that we can hold most of the civil servants to account for their actions or inactions. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Mutito, âMr. Mutisoâ---"
}