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{
    "id": 541840,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/541840/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 112,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Washiali",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 151,
        "legal_name": "Benjamin Jomo Washiali",
        "slug": "benjamin-washiali"
    },
    "content": "Thank you. I want to take this opportunity to thank my brother Hon. Keynan, the PIC Chair for having come up with a Report that is very sensitive on Government investments. I want to slightly elaborate on this Report. Mumias Sugar Factory was initially a Government corporation. But now it has been privatized and that is why we are having the current problems. This raises a question. Why is it that when companies are privatized, they lose their value? We have in mind the Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), Kenya Wines Agencies and Kenya Airways which was doing very well and today, it has made losses of about Kshs10 billion. We need to find out who is in charge of the investments in the Government. We have an Investment Secretary in the Treasury and we must find out how she is investing. I know she is a lady. We must know what she is investing in to ensure that the Government resources are properly taken care of. That is because we cannot allow this kind of investment whereby, every time the Government invests, it goes haywire. In Mumias Sugar Factory, the Government has 20 per cent shareholding. What has been happening over time is that the Government, being one of the major shareholders, has been determining who becomes a director of Mumias. That is why we have a cartel in the Board of Directors that is not sensitive to the plight of other shareholders. Therefore, I want to thank the Chairman and especially now that we are having this Report on the privatization of the sugar sector. I hope that this House will come up with a Report that will be sensitive to other shareholders. Thank you."
}