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{
    "id": 521133,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/521133/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 187,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Ombaka",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1007,
        "legal_name": "Christine Oduor Ombaka",
        "slug": "christine-oduor-ombaka"
    },
    "content": "import. But when you have land, resources, skills and farmers who have been there for many years and you want to kill the industry and then you talk about privatisation, then we have not set our priorities right. In my view, we have played a lot with the sugar industry by killing it ourselves. Now we want to privatise it. We killed it simply by importing sugar from countries that are doing very well. Why do we not even learn how other countries have succeeded in the sugar industry? What have they done to make sure that they have enough to the extent that they can export? There are many countries that surround us and we see a lot of sugar and rice all over. We also have rice around Ahero and Embu. Some of these industries will collapse if we do not watch out. Importation is an area that we need to check. Why do we need to import? Why do we license importation of goods that we already have in our country, which we can develop, grow and expand? I would support the Motion on privatisation only on condition that privatisation is going to benefit the people of this country particularly people from the region where the five sugar industries are situated. That is not a rich area. It is a poor area. They always say that bad politics killed the economy of the area. I do not know that. The only thing I know is that it is a poor region. Where these five industries are situated, people are poor. Now we want to privatise the sugar companies. They had a chance to improve their economy by improving the sugar industry. The Government needed to have invested in the area, shown some interest and developed it. In privatising it, we are likely to stand a chance or a risk of privatising an industry that will still collapse. There is need to do proper investigation and study the industry better and find out why other countries that are exporting sugar are doing well. What makes them do so well? What is it that they are doing that makes the industry in their countries do so well? Why do we not learn from there and bring their skills and knowledge to our country to improve these companies? I stand to support it, but I am very cautious and afraid because the decision we are likely to take is one whose success is still not known. Thank you for the opportunity."
}