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{
    "id": 737790,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/737790/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 43,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Onyura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12833,
        "legal_name": "Michael Aringo Onyura",
        "slug": "michael-aringo-onyura"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I also rise to support this Bill and like my colleagues before, I congratulate Hon. David Ochieng, who is my good neighbour and party leader of one of the newest parties in the country. It is a timely Bill that addresses a very a problem that is causing a lot of challenge in this country. I was quite impressed when Hon. David Ochieng was moving the Bill and he said that it is something that he has been working on for a number of years even before he came to this House. It can be seen because it is a very detailed document of nearly 130 pages. It is quite comprehensive. It covers the establishment of an agency to carry out the responsibilities, duties and functions that are detailed there. The Bill also gives the appointments, laws and procedures that it will use. It is a good job done. I thank my good neighbor for that dedication and commitment. For any country, national interest comes first. That also includes the welfare of citizens and protection of their economic activities and endeavours. This Bill provides the necessary legislative and legal framework in which that can be done so that where the Government feels it ought to take action, it will then have a structure, rules and processes to do that. This will protect us from having serial litigants rushing to court to say that the Government is doing something illegal or that it is not backed by law. It is a very good effort. The fact that among its benefits is to protect our industries, some of which are very young and fledgling, the Bill directly contributes to the creation and protection of employment. As we know, the rate of unemployment is a serious matter in this country. It is getting higher and higher. We should look at it as a very serious security risk. As we continue to increase the number of well-educated and properly trained youth who are jobless, there is a security risk in that as well. One observation is that making such a good law is one thing. The challenge is the implementation and enforcement. That is where we have challenges. We have all manner of laws. I am sure that even some of the existing laws can mitigate some of the risks and offences that would arise from activities of dumping. But you find that nothing is happening. We have laws on counterfeits. We have laws on importation of poor quality products that are supposed to be enforced by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and other agencies. We have some fairly strong customs laws that can take good care of some of these issues, but those who are entrusted with the implementation and enforcement of these laws are not doing their jobs. I hope Kenyans who will be given the opportunity to implement this will be serious and dedicated so that we do not just have good laws in our statute books that do not help us. Hon. Deputy Speaker, all in all, this is a Bill that will protect us from unfair trade practices and all the dangers that it has including flooding our markets with very cheap goods. The fact that the Government will now have a framework in which to levy taxes that will discourage dumping and also support the young and weak industries through subsidies will be of 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."
}