Benjamin Jomo Washiali

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1601 to 1610 of 1882.

• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, sir, on the issue of giving away land to the nuclear estate of Mumias, I want to inform my colleagues that when farmers were giving out the land, they were not selling it. They were leasing it out and, up to view
• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: today, they have lease agreements. The land was not for sale. That is the information I wanted to give. view
• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: On a point of information, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I just wanted to give additional information on the reason the intermediaries have been a problem. Before, the Kenya Sugar Board used to channel these loans through the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), but AFC chose to advance this money to maize farmers as opposed to sugar-cane farmers, when actually it was meant for sugar-cane farmers. So, I want to just let the hon. Member be informed that it was actually unfair. I agree with him that this money should go directly to the farmers from the Kenya Sugar Board. view
• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support this Report. I want to start by thanking the Mover, who is the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, for coming up with a Report of this nature. I also want to add that I am one of the Members of Parliament who received the Committee. By that time, I was not a member of this Committee but, later on in the year, I joined it. view
• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, sugar-cane has been planted or grown in Mumias Constituency – a constituency which I represent in this Parliament - for the last 40 years. You will be surprised that with those 40 years of growing cane, it has never changed the livelihood of the people of Mumias. You will tell even from the poverty index. The people of Mumias are still 73 per cent poor and that goes a long way to prove view
• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: to this House that sugar-cane growing has never improved the economic status of the people of Mumias. view
• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to declare my interest under Standing Order No.81 that I am also a sugar-cane farmer, besides being a Member of Parliament of that area. I have had an opportunity to move around that region and the constituency that I represent. You will see people living in abject poverty. It really touches one’s sympathy. When you go round, you will find a family with two acres of land under cane and has a child or a relative who has passed away from a simple disease like Malaria. They cannot raise Kshs200 to take that ... view
• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: Therefore, I want to support this Report and congratulate the Committee again for what they have done. You will see that on page 47 of the Report, they have touched on issues of transport. Transport has been a problem to sugar-cane farmers, especially those ones from Mumias - the constituency I represent. You will find transporters, who are mostly Indians, discussing and negotiating the rates of transport with Mumias Sugar Company and yet, the people who eventually come out to pay for the transport costs are the farmers. When they are negotiating in those committees, they never--- view
• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, no and while I appreciate the--- view
• 18 May 2011 in National Assembly: Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I will move directly to the new grounds. view