Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 610242,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/610242/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 215,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Washiali",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 151,
        "legal_name": "Benjamin Jomo Washiali",
        "slug": "benjamin-washiali"
    },
    "content": "are actually meant to earn their daily income on what they do in the sugar industry. That is why we must make our sugar sector as competitive as any other sector in our COMESA member states. I come from Mumias where Mumias Sugar Company was privatised a long time ago; in 2003. Indeed, out of privatisation, we improved our technology because we now have a diffuser system, which has a better extraction of sucrose than any other factory in the country. In Mumias, we have diversified. We are not only producing sugar but also power, ethanol and water, which is supposed to add income to the parent factory so that it can give more to the farmers. As we debate this Motion, I want to agree with what the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade has said that privatising these factories like it was done to Mumias Sugar Company (MSC) is a wrong way of privatising. This is because MSC, a company which should have set the best example of privatisation, is on its deathbed because the style in which we privatised it does not have any honour. In fact, if it were not for the Government, MSC would have been long gone. The directors have become cartels because they have no one to answer to and they have made decisions that have actually spoiled the business environment that was in the factory much earlier. Hon. Speaker, you can be shocked by what has happened in MSC over time. In one meeting, the Board of Directors (BoD) decided that they had to remove the audit department of their company despite the fact that audit is actually a function of the Board. The audit department is the one that informs the Board on the decisions to make so that they can realise and correct where they have gone wrong and improve on where they have gone right. The set up of MSC is such that the directors of the Board have nobody to answer to. That is why they have made decisions that are detrimental to the life of the factory. In very few words, I want to support this Report and Motion and just like the Chairman of the Finance, Planning and Trade Committee has said, we need to support his request for Members to look at this Report positively. Hon. Speaker, this matter did not start in this Parliament but in the Tenth Parliament when hon. Njeru Githae was the Minister for Finance and we had different ways of looking at it then. However, because we have COMESA safeguard measures that are coming to an end on 28th February, 2015, I think it is important for us as a House to show direction in this area and country so that we allow privatisation. That way, we can effectively compete with other COMESA states. Then there is this issue of corruption. You have heard the Chairman mention how much money these companies owe banks and other lenders. You have heard of Kshs28 billion. If the law followed its course, maybe these companies will be under receivership. This is because if a company owes lenders Kshs 28.4 billions, it means that those lenders can take it over any time. For us to safeguard the interests of farmers and employees who are dependent on these factories by working and earning a livelihood in those companies, the best way to go is to privatise them so that we see the relevant competition. We expect that technology will then improve so that these companies can effectively compete with other companies in this area. 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."
}