Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 922310,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/922310/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 322,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mwaura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13129,
        "legal_name": "Isaac Maigua Mwaura",
        "slug": "isaac-mwaura"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary, Speaker, Sir, one of the most confounding things that I grapple with every day in public service, is the fact that some people would rather make money when the people they are supposed to represent are suffering. They have no conscience whatsoever. We hear stories of senior Government officials building houses in places like Karen and putting bullet-proof windows. These are individuals, who just the other day were in the streets with nothing to show for themselves, licking their wounds of defeat. Today as we speak, we do not even know what we are as a country. Are we in a planned economy? Are we in a liberal economy that is controlled by forces of demand and supply? When you look at the issue of maize, this deficit is artificial and engineered. As we speak, I am sure that there is a maize vessel in Durban waiting for a go-ahead of the importation. It happened in 2010 when I was an advisor in the Office of the Prime Minister. We hear stories about aflatoxin and people making huge profits out of the suffering of Kenyans. We cannot be in a situation where we say we are not going to have enough maize. This is not a natural calamity. The issue of the Big Four Agenda and food security is one of the key plans of the Jubilee administration. When you see a Cabinet Secretary insisting that there must be importation, and also see the manipulation of the market to the point that 2 kilogrammes of maize flour is now selling at Kshs150; this is meant to create a public catharsis so that somebody gets a justification to become rich on the backs of Kenyans. It is despicable! It is unacceptable! This is something that is well calculated and it is not just within the Ministry of Agriculture. We have failed as a country to allow public service administration to take place. What is the role of agricultural economists? If a country like China with a population of 1.4 billion which was suffering starvation during the days of Mao Zedong where only 440 kilogrammes of grain was to one person, today they are food sufficient. What about our country that has less than 50 million people? We have huge arable land across this Republic of Kenya. We are not in a dessert. However, there are some people who are making money out of the suffering of Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me give you a personal example. I am not sure whether it was this year or last year. I received a call that there were some maize farmers The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}