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{
    "id": 980985,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/980985/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "communities - be it Lake Victoria, Lake Turkana, Sagana and the Indian Ocean Belt - always complained that there was an authority to market milk, coffee, tea, pyrethrum, meat and other products. However, since Independence, we have not had an authority to market fish. That is why this Parliament, in its wisdom, agreed overwhelmingly to establish the Fish Marketing Authority. It was mandated with coming up with a national fish marketing strategy. Three years down the line, we still have not crafted a national fish marketing strategy and we have a chaotic situation where fish is coming in from China and many of the fish processors are forced to negotiate directly with buyers in other countries. It would have been easier if the Government was to aide them in opening up new markets. The Fish Marketing Authority was to ensure that fish and fishery products from Kenya enjoy market access at local, national, regional and international levels as premier products. This has been applied in other sectors like coffee. Kenyan coffee and fish are highly regarded internationally. Unfortunately, we do not have a proper coordinating marketing strategy to position Kenyan fish as a premium product on the shelves in international markets. This was supposed to be the mandate of the Fish Marketing Authority. Again, the Fish Marketing Authority is meant to enforce national and international fisheries trade laws. The Tuna fish industry is one of the most lucrative food industries in the world. Unfortunately, Kenya, despite lying in a favourable position for Tuna fishing at the Indian Ocean, our fishermen and country have not reaped the benefits of the Tuna fish trade. It was to be the responsibility of the Fish Marketing Authority to push for this. It was to identify fish marketing needs and trends and organize stakeholders to ensure smooth marketing of fish and fishery products. The board of directors of the fish marketing authority was to comprise of a chairperson appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament. That is what I seek to amend. The chairperson of the Fish Marketing Authority should be appointed by the President without necessarily coming to the National Assembly for approval. As we speak, we have a substantive chairperson of the Fish Marketing Authority. Hon. Ochieng Mbeo was nominated by the President in July, 2019 and had to be brought before Parliament for vetting. He was appointed in August, 2019. Although the Chairperson of the Board has already been appointed, the CEO is yet to be appointed. It would make a lot of sense to this House if we were to make these amendments so that we empower the board of directors of the Fish Marketing Authority to undertake the appointment of the CEO of the Board in a manner that is competitive and that ensures that the board gets the best. There are certain concerns that have been raised around the composition of the Board of the Fish Marketing Authority. However, I felt that we need to fast operationalise this authority before we start opening up or dissecting other members of the Board. For example, fish processors and exporters have complained that they have been excluded from this board yet for a long time, they have been the face of Kenya in the fish market globally."
}