Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 868663,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/868663/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 94,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Igembe North, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Maoka Maore",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13344,
        "legal_name": "Richard Maore Maoka",
        "slug": "richard-maore-maoka"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to say a word or two about this very important Bill. As we try to modernise our country, you will realise that the most important aspect is the consumer aspect of what we take from factories or industries. You will realise that this is one of the very difficult countries to live in because of the lax regulations that we have in our laws. Now that we have this Bill, the Kenya Accreditation Service Bill, we need to go further and set up a kind of a mechanism, equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, where, when you prepare anything that is meant to be consumed by human beings, it must be to the highest safety standards. The idea of profiteering is always very tempting to any individual. I have in mind what the security agencies unearthed in Thika; the huge multi-billion plant which existed. I noticed that most of the individuals who were rushing there were worried about the tax revenue that has been lost. They were very crooked. You cannot tax poison. They should be more worried about the individuals who have been consuming the poison that was emanating from that un-accredited factory. As much as we are passing these laws and creating those new bureaucracies, let us not create an avenue like the one where people created the Anti-Counterfeit Authority after they were worried and tired by the lax behavior of KEBS. The job that is being done by KEBS and Anti-Counterfeit Authority is the same. When people realise that there is a gap, they create another bureaucracy. Then they wake up the next morning and create another bureaucracy. This is an avenue for them to help themselves. It is for this reason that we have this body and we pray that the many people who will be appointed to head the organization should be of integrity to run an institution that will do the service for posterity. The life of a Kenyan is very delicate. I tabled a bottle of a soft drink in this House which happened to contain a huge fly. That was the only and the last time a soft drink has been tabled in this House. The story happened in 1997 and the Speaker wondered how I entered the House with a bottle, and ordered the Serjeant-at-Arms to take it. It was kept and the Ministry of Trade then was ordered to come and collect it and take it to KEBS for testing. The morning of the Question, I got pressure from all corners. I was told: “If you agree with us, we will employ some youths from your constituency or we can give you some money”. I told them that I would go ahead and ask the Question and wait for the world to come down. So, it is true that those things happen every day. I know between that time and today, it has not been easy for other people to bring up the issue of poison by huge corporations and multi-nationals who do not care because they know that this is Kenya. In Kenya, people get away with a lot of nonsense. We hope that one day, we will have an organization that will be able to standardise the things that we consume. I have not told you what happened to the bottle. In between the Office of the Serjeant-at- Arms, the Ministry of Trade and KEBS, the bottle was destroyed. So, we never got the report. That is Kenya for you. So, we want to live in a safe country where you can buy medicine that is not expired or the dates of expiry altered in a chemist. The food we buy should be safe since it is from a licensed or accredited institution or facility. So, my prayer and plea in this issue that we are talking about is this: That the regulations and rules that govern the institution should ensure the safety of the goods that we take. That is very important for us. For that reason, I want to 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."
}