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{
    "id": 839746,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/839746/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 48,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Eng.) Maina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 75,
        "legal_name": "Ephraim Mwangi Maina",
        "slug": "ephraim-maina"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to add my voice to this Statement. Frustrating pastoralists is an inhuman act. These people go through hardships and it would be expected that a situation that we are being informed about should not even arise. I want to point out that we have a bigger issue; the issue is not just the payment. During the colonial days, the Kenya Meat Commission was a very successful corporation. It was taken over, but continued being successful. Somewhere along the line, the rain started beating us, and this particular industry has never picked. In the recent years, money was allocated to the KMC, but it is like giving money to somebody who is bankrupt. You pay his debts and he continues to borrow more money, making him go back into debts. I would wish that this Committee actually looks into this matter in a holistic way. Delayed payment of farmers is inhuman as far as I am concerned. These people sell their livestock at a throwaway price, compared with Botswana, which is making a lot of foreign exchange out of open pasture, just like we do here. Somehow, we cannot organize ourselves. Therefore, I want this Committee to go deeper into the matter. First of all, the payment to farmers should not wait. If there is a road being built in Kajiado, it would rather be stopped, so that farmers are paid. This is inhuman and farmers should not continue to suffer anywhere in the whole Republic. We would want to see as a solution. In this country today, the sugar industry in Western Kenya is gone. We are here today, which is part of the grain store of Kenya, right from Kitale, Nandi and all surrounding regions, and farmers are very frustrated. I have seen old ladies who have not been paid almost shedding tears, but we are still importing maize. 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."
}