Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 542768,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/542768/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 202,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Chanzu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 11,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu",
        "slug": "yusuf-chanzu"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to support this Motion as amended. The fact of the matter is that privatisation of the public sector owned/controlled sugar companies, that is Mumias Sugar Company et cetera is an important thing that should have happened quite a number of years back. The Government is not in business to do business; the Government is in business to provide a conducive and enabling environment for private businesses to prosper or operate. This should have happened so that these companies would have been managed in a way that they would be making profits rather than the losses they have been making. There are many advantages in privatising because you cut down on a number of costs like overhead costs, the way public institutions work. It is very important that, that it is taken into account. The fact that the land which happens to be ancestral land has been alluded to by my colleagues here is important because when these sugar factories were set up, the land belonged to the locals and it was compulsorily acquired. So it is important that it reverts to them but with Government also having a say in what goes on because Kenya is not a federal State; it is a unitary State. That is why it is necessary to have a lot of consultations. It is not only going to be consultation at county level alone because even the counties end up being funded by the national Government in this country. It is important that all these factors are taken into account and adequate consultation is made before recommendations that are being made are implemented. The western part of Kenya is the whole area from Nyanza to Western Province. They are areas which have weather conditions which are suitable for sugarcane. You find that in western, these were the only factories that were set up after Independence because no other successive Government has set up any other factory in western. We had Webuye Paper Mills which also collapsed and I understand it is being sold at a throwaway price. Now we have the sugar factories at Nzoia and Mumias which are also being mismanaged because of interference from the public sector. It is important that all these factors are discussed and taken into account when the privatisation process takes place. Once it goes into private hands, we shall also avoid the business of Kenyans going in for cheap sugar 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."
}