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{
    "id": 583336,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/583336/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 268,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Committee of which I am a Member visited Costa Rica just to understand how Costa Rica has succeeded in differentiating its coffee in the world. What we were told is that coffee roasting and brewing is a basic process. You do not need very sophisticated machines, a degree or you do not need to be a specialist to be able to come up with a mill that can do coffee. The reason we still end up exporting raw coffee and not exploiting the coffee that we have is because we have not had an industrial thinking. We still think of doing raw materials. In this Bill, I like Clause 36 which talks about funding of industrial projects and the good Senator proposes that in the determination of revenue allocation, Parliament shall allow an amount equal to 1 per cent of the total amount allocated to counties to be divided equally by all counties to be used in facilitating industrialization process. This is new, clever and it is good. It is one of the noble proposals out of this Bill which I believe if we were to allocate 1 per cent of national revenues just to industrialization, then in a period of five years we should start seeing the fruits of that investment. The Bill also proposes an annual industrialization conference and even though there would be competing interests between public and private players; it is still a good thing to have this anchored somewhere in law because right now the counties that attempt to do anything similar to this, you find the governors are using it as a campaign tool. When they have been hit by their opponents, that is when they quickly think of doing an industrialization conference or when they hear that some of their sons who are presidents in other countries are coming back home, that is when they mobilize money to do some industrial conference. In the process, a lot of money is lost. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are certain areas that we need to look at. Personally, I feel uncomfortable with the idea of a County Industrial Development Committee (CIDC) that is chaired by the Senator. I can predict that this is a provision that will meet the same fate as the County Development Board (CDB) because this Bill has proposed that the CDC shall be chaired by the Senator, membership of the governor, Members of National Assembly and other elected leaders. The CIDC is also required to shape and direct industrialization policy. If I was a governor, I would say that it is my job together with my government to define and shape industrialization policy and not another body. So, this again can be seen as taking away some of the powers and duties of governors through the back door. The Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) has made it mandatory for counties to have what they call budget and economic fora. In as much as the role of these county budget and economic fora are not very clear, they are required to look at the matters relating to budgeting, the economy and financial management at the county level. One could argue that we could expand the scope of the County Budget and Economic Forum to include definition and shaping of industrialization policy within the county. Probably that could be the level that we need to strengthen them, so that there is a clear industrialization policy at the county level. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will support this Bill because it encourages industrialization, which is important for us to achieve our aspirations as a country. It provides funds for industrialization and proposes at least 1 per cent of the national Budget to be set aside for industrialization. I wish that it could be much more clear and detailed on the means of oversighting the funds that have been allocated for industrialization. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}