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{
    "id": 810911,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/810911/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 63,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Starehe, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Charles Njagua",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13283,
        "legal_name": "Charles Kanyi Njagua",
        "slug": "charles-kanyi-njagua"
    },
    "content": " THAT, the traders carry out fully registered and legitimate business and are in full support of the Government’s effort on the fight against counterfeit and contraband goods; THAT, while efforts by the Government to fight contraband and counterfeit goods must be supported, this should not be used to infringe on the rights of the legitimate traders; THAT, there has been no protection by the Government to legitimate business people from extortion by corrupt officials, who demand bribes from the traders or otherwise face harassment; THAT, the Anti-Counterfeit Agency and the Kenya Bureau of Standards have not been carrying out inspection of goods at the entry points but carry out raids in shops with the help of the police and other unknown persons; THAT, the Government has been implementing blanket destruction of imported goods in the port when contraband/counterfeit goods are found in a container which belongs to different traders in a situation where it does not warrant destruction of all the goods in the container; THAT, most goods are not cleared on time making the traders run into losses as they use bank loans to finance businesses and further when the goods stay for a period of more than four months at the port, it leads to bad debts, auction and closure of businesses; THAT, the long period of clearing goods attracts demurrages which is passed on to the small traders thus increasing the overall cost of doing business; THAT, the Government gets rid of cartels purporting to be agents strategically stationed in Mombasa and whose main business is to buy auctioned good at the port at cheap prices; THAT, the Government should offer the traders a one-year grace period before t he implementation of new policies governing importation of goods; THAT, the Government should offer amnesty and release goods in the port of Mombasa for those traders whose goods have been impounded; and, THAT, there are no clear policies in place to guide the operations of informal traders. Therefore, your humble Petitioners pray that the National Assembly, through the Departmental Committee on Industry, Trade and Co-operatives: The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}