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{
    "id": 94007,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/94007/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 83,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) has not been signed. So, it falls outside the agreements that the hon. Member may be talking about. What happened is that in December or November, 2007, when the existing agreement was just about to lapse – that is come midnight of 31st December, 2007 - the EU would have had to apply taxes on our flowers and horticultural products, an interim arrangement was entered into which was basically initialing the negotiated document at that point. That is what has been safeguarding our products that are entering the European market from being charged taxes that would range from about 5 per cent to about 15 per cent on our horticulture. But in terms of the current issues on rice which has nothing to do with the EPAs, for example, we have had within the EAC a common external tariff on rice which has been at 35 per cent. But there is also a suspended duty of 70 per cent on rice coming from all the other countries except Pakistan, which was deemed to be discriminatory on all the other countries and preferring one country. It is obviously something that had been entered into in the past because of Pakistan’s relations with Kenya in terms of the trade in tea. But faced with challenges in terms of even challenges at the World Trade Organization (WTO), we took the decision that all our partners should be equal and all the duties were applied at the 35 per cent on rice. That seemed to have been misunderstood by some people. But the issue on rice, for example, had nothing to do with the duty. What happened is that some unscrupulous traders started bringing in pure rice but declared at the port as broken rice which attracts a lower value so that even as you apply the 35 per cent on a lower value, the duty paid was too little. They were able to get into the market. However, that loophole has since been sealed by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). In terms of the wheat, again, duty was sorted out from 35 per cent, brought down to 25 per cent and eventually to 10 per cent. As you know, you cannot eat wheat in its raw form. It is an intermediate product used for making flour when it is milled and all intermediate products attract a rate of 10 per cent. The finished products attract a duty of 25 per cent and the raw materials attract 0 per cent. Wheat is an intermediate product and the duty is at 10 per cent. That is a common external tariff rate that was applied and hence because of the negotiation that took place in East Africa that we do not have enough supply to meet the existing demand, there could be no protection of wheat from the member countries and thus the duty was then upheld at 10 per cent in Arusha. So, in short, there is no agreement that the Government is signing that is prejudicing our farmers. Indeed, what we are trying to do in all the negotiations is to ensure that our farmers and producers can be protected because we are still young economies."
}