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{
    "id": 734007,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/734007/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 108,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, thank you for this very important opportunity to speak to this Motion. One of the very important entities that Kenya is part of in international law is the EALA which is part and parcel of the East African community (EAC). The EAC is an entity anchored in international law and particularly the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in Article 24 provides for the possibility of having a regional integration as an exception to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Principle in GATT. It says that Members who are trading as part and parcel of the WTO can sometimes discriminate against the other members if they are part and parcel or give favoured treatment to a few countries that are part of regional integration. First and foremost, the EAC is about trade. Trade is important for this country and region. We have great opportunity to expand our trading relations with Tanzania and Uganda. Uganda is one of our biggest export destinations after the United States of America (USA) and Europe. It is important for us as a country to have a lot of attention on the EAC. Last December I had an opportunity to drive into Tanzania. There are still a lot of things that Tanzania still needs that I thought were so obvious in Kenya. A simple facility as using a credit card is not an easy thing there. You think that you would walk to a petrol station, fuel and use a credit card. To a greater extent our neighbours are still working on financial systems and many other things. Madam Temporary Speaker, what makes me sad is the stories we hear. I have no evidence per se but the stories we hear from traders and business men is that there is too much protectionism that is still going on within our neighbours, particularly Tanzania. That would have been ironed out if we had a very strong EALA that has a wider mandate to look at all the treaties. 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"
}