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{
    "id": 973169,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/973169/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 126,
    "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 support this Statement on the closure of Kibos Sugar Factory. Whatever the reasons that the NEMA may have, they need to weigh it against the national interests. Today, you can see that the life of the people in the whole of the Western belt, which used to be a sugar belt, is very pathetic since our sugar factories collapsed. A place like Mumias that used be very vibrant when the sugar industry was active is today a graveyard of its past and people are suffering. Again, one of the major problems we are facing in this country is the cost of living of the ordinary man. The other one is employment for our youth. This factory was definitely providing employment to some youth and livelihood to some ordinary Kenyans. Before coming to the point of declaring a closure, there are other measures that I believe should have been taken, like advisory measures and even trying to see that things are turned back. We should not have blatantly closed the factory hence affecting the people who depend on it for a livelihood. Mr. Speaker, Sir, today, when you go to the Industrial Area within this city, it is like a graveyard of many factories. There used to be many industries in Industrial Area. This country must have a policy to encourage the factories that are working. If they are not working efficiently and injuring the environment in one way or another, let them be advised on how to get things done right. Secondly, when NEMA rushes to Kibos and closes a factory, I wonder what they are doing in Nairobi. There is a lot of environmental abuse all over. They should have taken the Nairobi City Government to court because Nairobi City is filthy. There is a lot of environmental abuse all over and yet nothing is being done. Let us not just be talking about the need for this or that committee taking action. Let the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, for example, move quickly and ensure that the factory is re-opened. That should be the first thing."
}