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{
    "id": 706288,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/706288/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 260,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 170,
        "legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
        "slug": "bonny-khalwale"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Bill. I am very excited because it is innovative to the extent that we are now moving to learn from the best international practices. This has made it possible for a country of over 1 billion people, namely India, to remain self-reliant in food. I, therefore, wish to congratulate the Mover for the admission that what we have been doing in the country has not been the best. Why? Some of Kenya’s worst scandals have taken place in the maize sector. One is reminded of the scandal of 2009 where a Minister for Agriculture sat in Nairobi and started dishing out chits that enabled unscrupulous business people to mint hundreds of millions of shillings out of maize and other cereals that had been kept at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). I recall that this was such a major scandal that it led to the then, Prime Minister, hon. Raila Odinga to suspend the Minister in question. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, having acknowledged that, allow me to quickly look at a few clauses. I will start with Clause 3. I beg to disagree with my brother, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., when he says we are forming yet another council. This is such a critical area. If you do not have the council which is provided for in this law, the amount of abuse and loss that will be incurred by the farmers who would have been given receipts by warehouse operators will be unimaginable. I, therefore, insist from point number one that the Mover of the Motion, without us having to move him, should quickly ensure that this Bill is aligned with the new Constitution. The new Constitution has taken the entire function of agriculture to the counties. Why are we still in this Act, attempting to form a council that will be controlled by the national Government? Just look at it: Clause 3(a) Principal Secretary responsible for matters related to agriculture – national Government; 3(b) Principal Secretary for the time being responsible for matters related to finance – national Government; d) Director of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Authority (AFFA) or his representative, again, from the national Government. This is failure to acknowledge the fact that agriculture is fully devolved. I would not like to deny the national Government an opportunity to play a critical role in this. However, I invite the Mover to consider aligning it in this manner; that, Clause3 (f), (g), (h) and (i) be maintained but be changed so that in (c) where you have one person nominated by the Council of Governors (CoG) it stands but then, provide that the person nominated by the Financial Sectors and Regulators Forum, (f) and (g), the person nominated by the Kenya Farmers Association (KFA) and (h), the person nominated by the Kenya Members of the East African Growing Council and (i), the person nominated by the Consumer Federation of Kenya be nominated but be appointed by the CoG; so that 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"
}