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{
    "id": 836027,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/836027/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 321,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13188,
        "legal_name": "Getrude Musuruve Inimah",
        "slug": "getrude-musuruve-inimah"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir for the opportunity you have accorded me to support this important Motion. I thank Sen. Wetangula for coming up with the Motion because it will allow the Committee to conclude its findings. This extension is important for them to conclude their findings and prepare an accurate report which will inform the direction the country will take with regard to solving the maize crisis. Therefore, I thank the Committee for seeking to extend its time. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I also thank the Committee for undertaking research with regards to the maize issue. I believe they will be able to identify any gap and suggest lasting solutions. As we debate this Motion, the farmers are pained because they still have the maize from their last year’s harvest in their stores. They have no market for their maize and they cannot consume it. These farmers have personal needs. They have children to pay fees for. They also have medical issues. Some of them have three, four or five wives. They rely on maize to take care of their families. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is important for the Committee to be given more time to complete their work. I was happy with the public participation that the Committee conducted while we were in Eldoret. This country belongs to all of us. Public participation affirms that power belongs to the people and we must take their views on board. It was right for the public to vent their anger and frustrations concerning the maize issue. They were expressing themselves which is a constitutional right as provided for in Article 33. This helps us, legislators, to take our work seriously. We need to find out where we have gone wrong and where we need to intervene to encourage farmers in this country. Farmers contribute a lot to the wellbeing of our economy. Maize is a staple food in this country. If you visit most houses, you will find that people consume ugali regularly. Therefore, there is need for farmers to be protected. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, one of the mandates of this Senate is to protect the common mwananchi. We need to protect our farmers because we need them to create employment for themselves, their children and neighbours. There are some people in the counties who rely on being farmhands to sustain their families. How does farming come in? It comes in to help them as farmhands. So, there is need to see how we can protect farmers in this country. As we speak, there is need to put in place policies to ensure that even if we talk of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the fact that food is cheap, we have to know how to protect our farmers. We must start with our own by ensuring that farmers know where to take maize and other crops and that they are paid when they take them there. If this does not happen, the farmers will be crying. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}