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{
    "id": 556417,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/556417/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 168,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. J.K. Chege",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2129,
        "legal_name": "John Kiragu Chege",
        "slug": "john-kiragu-chege"
    },
    "content": "and the demand in the country. It is important for us to look at that industry afresh. We need to understand that it is a global industry and Kenya is also getting into the oil processing activities together with our neighbours in the region. One of the things that we need to remember is that there are people who depended on that industry to the tune of 300. When you close down an institution like that, you are saying that all the skilled people should go out in the streets. They will not get jobs because they have specialised skills which cannot get them into other activities. That means that Kenya will lose when we come to a point where we will start our refinery afresh. This is not different from the experience that we have seen in the Kenya Railways where the previous administration handed over our railway system to people who did not know how to run a railway. They were given a 25 years concession and they sent our skilled people home. Today, Kenya is going to spend billions of shillings in trying to revive skills related to railway operations. It is the same. We are going to require a modern refinery. I know that we will start that new refinery by recruiting people who know nothing about a refinery, when we have had a refinery in Kenya for over 40 years. I strongly believe that that facility should be converted into a storage tank firm like the ones that we have in Kipevu and in Nairobi next to the airport. When we are discussing the storage tank firm in the country, we must remember that some of those installations were safe some 20 years ago. Today, when we design storage facilities, we must take into consideration the fact that now we have terrorism. We must make sure that even when we recommend a facility like this to be a storage facility, which it is next to a residential area, we must take into consideration the safety aspect of such an installation. This country requires facilities to store processed products. We need to enhance our capacity. As I close, it is important for all of us to ensure that when it comes to privatisation of public and strategic organisations, we must put the interests of the country first. The short-cuts of making money from public organisations like refineries, railways, Telkom Kenya and many others must be discouraged by ensuring that the people who are responsible face the full weight of our laws. We should make sure that others learn from these lessons so that, in future, when people are given the opportunity to privatise, they will ensure that the interests of the country are taken care of. As we discuss the closure and the investigations of the various people who are involved, we should also make sure that the people who worked in that institution are not forgotten. As we continue to think about what is good for that facility, we should make sure that the skills are not lost."
}