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{
    "id": 664298,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/664298/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 87,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Shinali",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1598,
        "legal_name": "Benard Masaka Shinali",
        "slug": "benard-masaka-shinali"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this chance to contribute to this Bill. At the outset, I rise to support the Bill. This Bill is coming at a time when our farmers have really suffered because they grow cane but when they harvest, the prices they get are low. Some of them even get debits. I want to thank Hon. Wamunyinyi for bringing this Bill. It is a step in the right direction because the sugar industry in western Kenya is dying and farmers are uprooting their sugarcane because the cost of growing it is expensive. It eats all the profits and farmers are getting debits. As I sat here, a few things were running through my mind. We pass laws here but do they serve the intended purpose? This law is intended to reduce the cost of farming to benefit the farmers so that they have something to take home. When we exempt tax on sugarcane, we should make sure that this law is adhered to so that transporters can have a platform to interact with the taxman to know what is being saved and how it is going to affect the industry. I want to look at the process of licensing sugar factories. It is so tedious and yet, we are saying that we want to attract investors to come and manufacture sugar and offer stiff competition. The process of getting a sugarcane crushing licence is tedious and yet, you can easily get it to import sugar. It goes through long processes and I want to encourage Hon. Wamunyinyi to look into this area because we want to encourage competition which will encourage our people to bring the cost of production down. People in the western region largely depend on sugarcane growing and when inputs of sugarcane farming are reduced, the livelihoods and the economy of western Kenya will improve. I want to thank the Government for getting interested in sugarcane farming in western Kenya. Although all the efforts that have been put are highly appreciated, I want to note that they are not enough and the Government should increase its support to farmers. In our view, sugar- cane had been categorised as a cash crop for export and yet, sugar that is produced in Kenya is consumed locally. The levies should be removed. Sugar should be categorised as a food substance because it is consumed here and we even have a shortfall. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker."
}