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{
    "id": 629162,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/629162/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 696,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "realised especially when the Senate has given the impetus to various counties to engage in industrial development. Industrial development of a county will only come through such initiatives which start from the Senate. Since we are the oversighting body in the Republic, it is very important that a Bill like this one should be seen like it can really affect the country’s economy. There are various infrastructural bodies that we can have and we are still waiting to hear what the Government is coming up with particularly in road development in areas where such commodities come from. You note that without good roads and rail network and other infrastructure like water connection, we cannot do what we think we can without providing good transport system. We have various commodities grown in Kenya and more so in wet areas. We have coffee, tea and rice in Kirinyaga, Embu and other areas which require quick transport because they are very perishable. Crops like tea will require very fast transport to factories before they go bad. So, we also encourage infrastructure alongside this idea of industrial development because it is the one which will hasten the rate at which industries will pick up. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir you realise that Kenya mostly exports the raw materials which do not earn us a lot of money. We encourage that instead of exporting raw materials or unprocessed products, it is better we add some value so that we can have finished products which can also be consumed by Kenyans. It is possible that some of the products that we have can easily be processed and sold in our country. We can provide enough domestic market for products like tea, coffee, maize, rice and French beans. What is required is a good transport system where such products either finished or unfinished can reach the market on time. That is what the Bill is addressing. It is important to note that young countries like Kenya - young in the sense that we are still experiencing industrial take off - need to be careful because relying so much on importations from European countries and other developed countries will impede industrial development. We need protection from such industrial nations so that we are able to have our own industries producing the products that can be sold to fetch what is enough for our country later on. I appeal to the Government to come forward and protect, particularly the rice farmers in Mwea and Kirinyaga where they grow a lot of rice which needs value addition whereas there is a lot of dumping of foreign rice from Pakistan, India and Malaysia. The Government should help farmers to access markets because there is enough market in the country. We should develop irrigation schemes, for example, by creating the Thiba Dam where the Government is going to spend close to Kshs20 billion. The money should go towards development of regions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we develop such regions, we are going to have food satisfaction in the country and the counties that we have. That is why we are encouraging counties with the capacity to save and develop their areas. Areas which have capacity to produce certain goods should be encouraged to do that. Areas which are dry and have dams should be encouraged to do irrigation so that they can be developed. The dams can also be used for fishing, navigation and so forth. That will encourage the residents of the neighboring areas to produce industrial products. That, to me, is what is called industrial inertia. That can help not only the county but the country. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}