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{
    "id": 924943,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/924943/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 229,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ugenya, MDG",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2955,
        "legal_name": "David Ouma Ochieng'",
        "slug": "david-ouma-ochieng"
    },
    "content": "or Galitos today, you will see that the chicken being consumed there is foreign chicken. We allow them to come here with their own inputs. I have said it in this Assembly before that the reason Ugandans are now selling more eggs into Kenya is that Uganda produces its chicken feed cheaper than Kenya can do. In fact, all animal feeds produced in Uganda is cheaper than what we produce. The reason is we have decided to tax even production. We tax everything because we want to get money to steal. If you are going to tax even things that help our production, how far will we make sure that we can export more? In the coming long rains, you are going to see again farmers in Nyandarua stuck with tomatoes and farmers somewhere in Murang’a and Laikipia stuck with potatoes. They cannot sell because of the constraints. They cannot get a way of getting into the market. The roads are bad and they are being taxed by the county government and the national Government. So, as we try to develop measures to bridge the trade deficit, we must understand that as a country we must agree that there are areas where we have failed. We have allowed corruption to steal our soul and kill everything else that is good in this country, even the plan that we have that is supposed to ensure that Kenya grows. You wonder that a country like Botswana whose President is in this country today, has been having steady trade with the rest of the world for the last 10 years than Kenya has done. Another example is Uganda. Countries that we cannot say are as democratic as we are, are doing things in a better way than we are doing. So, the role of Parliament in export promotion cannot be gainsaid. So, I request Members here that in all the committees you are in be it the Departmental Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, the Departmental Committee on Energy, the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing, Departmental Committee on Health or whichever committee we are in, we need to ensure that our procurement, the policies we are passing and the budgets we oversee meet the goals of promoting export. We cannot grow if our goods are not being competitive and the reason being our own national policies. Our labour, power cost and transport cost are very high. Our producers then have to add another cost of corruption. We cannot sell our commodities outside there. What I am saying is this; that if we as a country have to grow, then we must put our monies where our mouths are. We belong to COMESA and EAC. As we speak, Uganda is now importing things they used to import from Kenya from China. Egypt is importing things they used to get from Kenya from China and India. That is trade diversion. We are not putting our trade partners to account. So, if we are to grow and if Hon. Waluke’s Motion is to mean anything, then we must search our souls as a country and say that this is what we want to do. We want to promote business and industry and because we have enough policies, we want to put our feet down and say enough of corruption, red tape and taxing production and that it is right to ensure that we promote production. This is so that we can create jobs and ensure that this country regains what it has lost. 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."
}