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{
    "id": 655901,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/655901/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 202,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ochieng",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2955,
        "legal_name": "David Ouma Ochieng'",
        "slug": "david-ouma-ochieng"
    },
    "content": "Listening to Hon. Birdi, one major thing that must be done is that we must ensure that products with export taxes are bought competitively. We must buy hides and skins from our people at good prices. Let us not impose export tax on products and then buy them locally at throw away prices. This is because we have given money to this Government and it must provide good prices for products they impose export tax on. Two, we must, as soon as possible, develop required capacity to process products we want exported. We are giving money. We want to see the ministries concerned working on this early. Three, the President himself has said that he wants to build a culture of buy Kenya, build Kenya. If we are going to promote this industry, we must, going forward, ensure that the products that are hides and skins-related in this country, be it furniture, boots for the military and National Youth Service (NYS), are charged an extra price. We must ensure that we buy locally and at good prices. That is how we will create jobs in this country. As we do this, we must ensure that we put enough money to develop the required technology and personnel that will work in this industry. That is how you build economies and create jobs. When an economy dies, to build a new economy you re-tool people so that they are able to fit into the new jobs. I hope that with these export taxes and the monies coming from them we will do this. One major thing is that you must then have the capacity to enforce the law. Just two days ago, we saw presidents burning ivory. We banned export of ivory a long time ago but we still export ivory as a country. The only way that this Bill will work and help the country is if we have a proper and strong enforcement mechanism to ensure that no hides and skins leave the country without taxes being paid. The idea is that we want to prohibit, discourage and stop export of hides and skins. If we want to do this, we must enforce it. If we do not enforce that then we will not achieve the purpose. A job has been given in this Bill to the Commissioner of the KRA. He must do his job to ensure that we have the capacity to enforce this if our leather industry is to pick and grow. You know when Goldenberg was happening here, in Korea they were killing people. If you were allowed to claim compensation based on export and lied, you were killed. That is how Korea was able to industrialise. I always hear politicians comparing Kenya with Korea and Malaysia. What did they do better? They are better and clear on how they enforce laws. This Bill only works if you enforce. It will shock you if you go to our ports that Kenya actually exports aviation products, cars and aircraft to Europe as scrap metal. Yesterday, I received an answer from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure on a Question I asked on the SGR. I wanted to know what is being sourced locally and from abroad. You will find that most of the things being brought from abroad are steel or metal-based. Why do you not allow metal to be smelted here so that we can use it here? This is what this Bill is doing. It is going to help us to develop our local steel industry. We needed it like yesterday. In that regard, this Bill is very important. I call upon the Government to put in place a proper enforcement mechanism. One thing that is amiss in this Bill is the imposition of the two varied yet very similar taxes. On one hand Clause 7 says that we are now imposing IDF. What is this and how does it happen? Clause 7 talks about imposing something called IDF, while Clause 8 talks about imposing Railway Development Levy at 3.5 per cent. We are charging 2 per cent for the IDF and 1.5 per cent as Railway Development Levy. Why would you be imposing a levy of 2 per cent? Why not 0.1 per cent? At times we borrow like the world is ending. This is a bad culture. I will 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."
}