{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=150587","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=150585","results":[{"id":1524052,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524052/?format=json","text_counter":288,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Mungatana, MGH","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to second this Motion. I also want to thank the Chairperson of the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, Sen. Murgor, for ably moving the Motion on the inquiry of the welfare of workers in the EPZ in Mombasa and Kilifi counties. If you live in the coast, you will always see hundreds of people walking towards the companies that have been set up as EPZ’s very early in the morning along the Malindi-Mombasa road. Those wananchi work at Ashton Apparel EPZ Limited and the other two that were mentioned. They go to those places to earn a living. Sen. Faki did not speak of this because it is a joke. There are serious problems that face those wananchi as they go to work and carry out their duties in those EPZ’s. Sen. Faki complained of the EPZ in Mombasa and Kilifi counties, but the problems in those EPZ’s are similar to those of the EPZs in Nairobi and other places. The people who make those garments for export sales are harassed and exposed to difficult labour conditions. This is not the first time that we have heard about these complains and it will not be the end of these complains. We know that the EPZs are supposed to help boost economic activities within the country and the idea was to create employment for our people. However, the conditions of work are very difficult in those EPZs. I want to agree with the committee that the Cabinet Secretary in charge of trade, industries and investments in this country must be proactive. I am sure the Cabinet Secretary is listening to me wherever he is. This Senate is recommending that he should go and get better deals for our workers in those EPZs. Our citizens are paid minimum wages. They walk because they cannot afford to take boda boda and cannot get into a matatu. They literally live on bare minimum. Apart from the poor pay, there are also many complaints. They are exposed to sexual harassment and very long working hours. They are also exposed to poor pay. Some of the working conditions within those EPZs are against the labour laws of this country. I want to use the Floor of the Senate to tell the Cabinet Secretary to have a meeting with his officers in order for them to make special visits without notice to those EPZs for them to check if labour practices are being followed. The agreements that are signed with the EPZs are supposed to make them, as a company, subject to Kenya labour laws. There is no excuse. I recommend that the Senate report be expanded, so that the Cabinet Secretary who will be served with this report ensures that unannounced visits are carried out by labour officers in all EPZs. They should not just be the ones in Mombasa and Kilifi counties. These unannounced visits are the ones that bring out the true picture of what happens in those EPZs. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1524053,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524053/?format=json","text_counter":289,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Mungatana, MGH","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Mr. Temporary Speaker, some of them are not even given breaks during lunch and others have very long working hours. People are left wondering what is happening because we are in this same country. This report of the Senate has found out that people who are doing the same type of duty within the companies are being paid lower wages. Foreigners who are coming to work are being given higher salaries than the Kenyans who are working within the same outfit. We are living in the 21st Century and under a new Constitution, yet our workers are being discriminated right here in this country. The blame lies squarely at the doorstep of the Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry in Kenya. He must move out of the office, go and see what is happening for him to advise the President on what we need to do to make our workers work well. I am confident that he will listen to this and actually act on it. Kenya cannot be the place where our workers are being oppressed, yet our Cabinet Secretaries are there. The Cabinet Secretaries for Labour and Social Protection and the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry should even have a special task force to investigate the environment where our people are working and fight for them. It is good to bring the EPZs here, but it should not be a source of exploitation and pain to our people. These are the same people who we go and ask votes from. After we do so and form Government, we forget about them when they are living in such horrid conditions. Shame on us. Apart from these recommendations, the Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection should cooperate with the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry. They should visit these places and find out whether these EPZs are keeping the agreements that were formed when they were coming into this country. This report also says that those companies in EPZs do not do any Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This was a notion that came in recent years, but now it has become an accepted norm for any corporates that are working in Kenya and even globally. These corporates usually know where their workers are staying. Most of them come from congested areas where roofs leak and are not well set up. What is wrong with them? Why can they not visit some of these areas? Why can they not work with local administration to help their own workers live in better conditions? Why can they not take up paying school fees for them in boarding school, so that their children can have better education and surpass their moms and dads? Why is it that these EPZs are always given such favourable terms and they do not return anything to the communities that work for them, particularly the labourers who give all their time, money and strength for them? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, these people get sick from those long hours and tough working conditions in those companies. Why can they not create medical schemes for their workers or build clinics? You will find that it is a company that is making garments, but they cannot employ even a nurse to help with panadols. They just leave those people, exploiting labour and they do not care. This report and this Senate are saying that the EPZs should do something about CRS. I highly accept and recommend that this particular issue be expedited. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1524054,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524054/?format=json","text_counter":290,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Mungatana, MGH","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Moving from that, there are EPZs and Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Under this Government, on the SEZs, counties were meant to contribute Kshs250 million. The national Government to give counterpart funding of equal amount, so that we can set up them. The SEZs that have been formed under this Government seem to be only a few that have been selected. Only a few seem to be supported. These SEZs have not become a reality in counties that need them the most like the County of Tana River. You will find that in Tana River, even a single company that is making production somewhere does not exist. The only companies that are existing are the large milling companies. They mill what is coming out from the irrigation schemes. We do not have companies that are making production of anything. Therefore, we do not have employment opportunities within the industrial sector. Our Government said that county governments should set aside Kshs250 million, the national Government to give the counterpart funding and then start moving in that direction to help fill in the gap that these EPZs have left. The EPZs have failed to lock in the gaps of employment opportunities for counties that are far off. They have merely focused within towns and counties that are in big cities. I expected that the national Government will give priority to counties such as Tana River, so that within the first five years of this administration, we will see our SEZs in Tana River operational. However, we have not seen this happening. Other counties that are already having special EPZs are the same counties that are being given SEPZs. My prayer is that we should not propagate the same discrimination against counties that are on the outer side, so that we continue with independent policies that have discriminated against counties that are far off. A county such as Tana River should have been prioritised when it came to SEPZs, so that we can create conditions that will bring companies to manufacture in that area. We have a lot of land that we can give to those people who want to come. However, the Government needs to put the counterpart funding and encourage people to come and invest in that place. What is happening is that the SEZs seem to be working in the same areas where the EPZs are already operational. I want to use this Floor of the Senate to say that this policy of SEZs should also be extended to counties that are far off and they should be given priority. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those very many remarks, I take this opportunity to thank the Standing Committee on Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism for the work that they have put in, including the visits they made and the recommendations that they gave. I want to thank the chairperson for ably leading them in this endeavour. My prayer is that the same recommendations be effected within the period that was proposed. The Senate does not have an Implementation Committee. The Senate, in its wisdom, decided that the committees that are engaged on matters, and these matters are raised on the Floor of the Senate, are the same committees that will take charge and make sure that the resolutions the Senate makes are implemented. I want to take this opportunity to tell the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to make sure that they follow on these recommendations. If they say it will take four months, they can tell their secretariat to make sure in those four months there as The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1524055,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524055/?format=json","text_counter":291,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Mungatana, MGH","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"a follow-up meeting. There is a reporting mechanism. This will ensure that our recommendations as a Senate today and as we approve these reports, will be taken seriously and the relevant departments in Government can implement them. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those very many remarks, I beg to second."},{"id":1524056,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524056/?format=json","text_counter":292,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"(Question proposed)"},{"id":1524057,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524057/?format=json","text_counter":293,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Wakili Sigei","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Before I allow Sen. Eddy to make his contribution to this particular report, for the benefit of Sen. Mungatana, you have raised something as you were concluding your contribution about the absence of the Implementation Committee in the Senate. Yesterday, in the course of the sittings of the Liaison Committee, that issue was brought up. A recommendation was made to the effect that the Liaison Committee because it has the chairpersons of all the committees, it should look into a possibility of amending the Standing Orders, so that it becomes a liaison as well as an Implementation Committee. Since we will be having recommendations from the rest of the committees in the House. I hope and believe that even before we get there, the chairperson of the committee relevant to this particular report who is present in the House, will look into a follow-up to ensure the implementation or at least something that has been recommended by the committee is put into action by the relevant Government agencies and departments. We look forward to the Liaison Committee being indeed fully an Implementation Committee, so that we get into actioning the recommendations. Hon. Members, I will call upon Sen. Eddy to contribute to this particular report."},{"id":1524058,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524058/?format=json","text_counter":294,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Oketch Gicheru","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to chime into the report that I find very comprehensive. As you may know, the EPZs anywhere in the world, particularly in Kenya, employ mostly semi-skilled and unskilled labourers. The skilled workers partake and share in the retail price of goods and services that come from EPZs. This is not an available option for semi-skilled and unskilled workers. This is predominantly because these kinds of workers do not partake in what we call a salary. They will take their benefit of compensation from what would entail wages. Therefore, it is very difficult for them to get the fair share price or an equivalent price on the retail price of the final goods and services that we produce. Number two, the biggest benefit the semi-skilled and unskilled workers get is any related challenges that might come predominantly to health conditions given the working environment they get. This is a fundamental reason this Motion was moved in the first place. That we can look at the issues for this group of workers in our country. Ashton Mombasa Apparel EPZ, for instance, is among the largest employers in the EPZ that are providing jobs for thousands of people. However, the working conditions in these areas are indeed wanting. I know there is an argument that could come up even in the sum of the thoughts of this report that the wages at the EPZs are within the national minimum bracket. Should the EPZs be comfortable with giving minimum wages that we have in this country or The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1524059,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524059/?format=json","text_counter":295,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Oketch Gicheru","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"should we stretch our thought a little bit into thinking about the living standards of the people who are exposed with the poor working conditions in these areas and the stress they have with medication? Up and above the minimum wages that they earn, as a House, could we look at an increment that is commensurate with the kind of conditions they work in? Is there a potential for provision of some extra services by EPZs that can take care of things like health care provision in these areas? In some cases, the elements that some workers can benefit from, which I do not see very strongly in this report, are things like CSR. Most of the workers working in areas with a lot of problems due to vulnerabilities of nature that come from the processing elements of these companies, the effect on the environment or exposure of different pollution that come from these zones end up affecting the children and families of those unskilled and semi-skilled workers. The skilled workers working for these companies can afford to stay far away from these companies and have more options. They can live in areas that are more conducive that can provide some sense of better health environment and social amenities. Is there an opportunity and a wiggle room that even as we discuss this report, we can come up with some resolutions that can make sure that these companies are able to invest in CSR activities? Even if these families are not getting the competitive wages they need take care of the excesses of healthcare, environmental degradation and other pollutions that come in place, can they be supported with proper CSR? This will be very important when you look at the mix of wages and other benefits that they get from the---"},{"id":1524060,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524060/?format=json","text_counter":296,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Wakili Sigei","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Sen. Eddy, time is up. When the House resumes its sitting, you will have a balance of 14 minutes to conclude on your contribution to this Motion."},{"id":1524061,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524061/?format=json","text_counter":297,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Wakili Sigei","speaker_title":"ADJOURNMENT The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Hon. Senators, it is now 6.30 p.m., time to adjourn the Senate. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until Tuesday, 11th March, 2025 at 2.30 p.m."}]}