Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 3241 to 3250 of 3399.

• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, if the total cost of producing a packet of milk was Kshs30 and a businessman wants to make a profit of Kshs10, he will add Kshs10 and definitely the selling price will be Kshs40. However if the total production cost goes to kshs70 and he wants to retain the same Kshs10, commonsense will dictate that he or she will add Kshs10 and the price will be Kshs80. So, the issue of saying that unscrupulous people are increasing prices illegally does not hold water. view
• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: When we debated the VAT Bill, there is a difference between tax exempt and zero rate tax. This honourable House exempted tax on basic goods including milk, unga, sugar and bread but they were not zero-rated. Definitely, the businessman wants to make profit. When the production cost goes up, definitely it is passed on to the consumer. So, if the Government wants to help the poor Kenyans, we must reverse from tax exemption to zero-rate tax. view
• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, an empty stomach has a dangerous mind. If this continues, we will have many cases of insecurity in this country. This is because everyone would like to look for ugali and food. If they cannot afford this, we will have house breakages and mugging of people. view
• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: The cost of water has also gone up because VAT was also introduced in that commodity. Hon. Angwenyi is my neighbour where I come from and he has been a very good hon. Member whom I respect very much. However, today, we must discuss soberly so that we can know how to reduce the prices of these basic goods. view
• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: On employment, we know that we have high rate of unemployment in this country. Research has shown that 70 per cent of the people who are unemployed are the youth. We have local industries here which process milk, bake bread or mill unga . In terms of production cost, if this cost is high, the price will definitely be high. In economics we have what we call “price elasticity of demand”. When the price goes up, the quantities that will be demanded or purchased will be low. If whatever the factories or industries are manufacturing will not be sold then ... view
• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: In other words, I am trying to say that in future, the local industries will close down because the price will be high when the production cost is high and the market that we have locally cannot afford. So, people will have to change or substitute products and in the long run these factories will close down and we will have serious unemployment. view
• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I had a session with the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade whom I respect very much and is a very good friend of mine. Indeed, he admitted that we need to zero-rate tax on basic goods as opposed to tax exemption. view
• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: This is not an issue of Jubilee neither is it an issue of CORD. Kenyans are crying and we are the only ones who can save them. Prof. Michael Porter came up with the Diamond Model which shows competitiveness of nations in terms of investors. This country will not attract investors. Already, we have seen investors going to invest in Uganda because the production costs there are low. The same case will happen in Tanzania. I have seen in the newspapers the tourism industry not being spared. The tourists who watch our wildlife now prefer to go to Tanzania as ... view
• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: If you look at the policy that brought this VAT, you will find that the Jubilee Government wanted to get Kshs10 billion. However, getting Kshs10 billion and seeing the way Kenyans are suffering, which one will you go for? People have cried and nobody has heard their voices. I imagine that this honourable House will debate this matter objectively and without partisan approach and see what we can do. We can move an amendment to the VAT Act that was assented to so that Kenyans can enjoy lower prices of basic commodities. view
• 17 Sep 2013 in National Assembly: Education is a basic need. In line with the Millennium Development Goals, we advocate for university education for all. People in the village cannot afford exercise books. Look at the prices of newspapers. They have gone up. Newspapers provide information. They provide oversight in terms of accountability in respect of rich persons. When it comes to jobs advertisements, they are found in newspapers. However, newspapers are no longer affordable. I used to buy three newspapers daily but I now buy only one newspaper. If an hon. Member can feel the pinch, how about the common man in the village? My ... view