6 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
I also wish to bring to the attention of the Committee what goes on in Acacia Exploration Kenya Limited. They do not test the gold in Kenya. They do not trust the Kenyan laboratories in ascertaining the fineness of the gold. They take it to Tanzania to test and then they bring it back. I wish to ask the Committee to look into that aspect. Could it be just to hoodwink the locals by taking the gold out of the country? Or what could it be so that we get value for our gold? Thank you, Hon. Speaker.
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6 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. At the outset, allow me to really appreciate Hon. ole Kenta for the good work he has done. Last week, I pronounced myself on the same when he brought a very wonderful Report here. Today, I stand here again to appreciate him for the good work. This time, he has touched on my nerve. I am a product of sugar-cane farming.
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6 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, allow me to confirm that I began farming sugar-cane in 1984 and to date, I still farm sugar-cane. Without sugar-cane, I would not be in this House. Therefore, if you talk about sugar-cane production, you have really touched my nerve. In 1984, an acre of sugar-cane would give you about Ksh35,000. It is a shame that today, you could plant sugar-cane on a 10-acre piece of land but the returns would be close to nothing. I wish to invert the Report. Hon. Kenta, you called it: “The Crisis Facing the Sugar Industry”. I would say that, ...
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6 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
Mumias Sugar Company was functioning even at the time the crisis report was being done. Today, the company is under receivership. All the 22,000 employees of Mumias Sugar Company are now jobless; they are now out of employment. Any employee who is still there now is a casual labourer. Those are people who used to live well. Why am I giving that background? It is a great shame that people have looted funds belonging to sugar-cane farmers. It is not only Mumias Sugar Company, but also Nzoia Sugar Company and Miwani Sugar Company Limited. Today, the Government is intending to ...
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6 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, if Hon. Kenta’s Report will be adopted, we wish to ask that he implements it. Where we can explicitly reveal that someone imported 10,000 metric tonnes of sugar, we have the bills of clearances at the borders. Why should that person acquire apartments in this town in prime estates and yet, the cane farmers are languishing at home? It is a shame that those people who work in cahoots with the KRA can walk scot free just because they could be connected one way or another. This is a challenge to the Committee on implementation but ...
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6 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
Issues that came out from the initial report were to do with delayed payments to sugar-cane farmers, thus resulting in arrears, high cost of production and acute cane shortage. I want to dispute and say that there is no acute sugar-cane shortage. This is purely intentional because when you do not pay a farmer, how do you expect him to produce sugar-cane? Also, there was low productivity, ineffectiveness in the cross-chain value and a weak regulatory framework. The Report that Hon. Kenta has come up with references on the sugar task force, which was also part of the initial report. ...
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6 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
In as much as we are talking about sugar-cane production, how do we get the cane produced without putting emphasis on agronomy? We need to have studies to show which cane is to be grown where. Not all cane is grown in the same soil type. We also want to look at the issues of pricing. If pricing is now going to be based on weight, I feel like this is what has demoralized farmers. Let us now go back and change our sugar pricing formula such that we now get the pricing from the….
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6 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for adding me one minute. It is very important that, as we discuss this Report, it should also form... There is a Bill that is being prepared by the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock through Hon. Wamunyinyi. If that comes, we will be looking at such issues like the SDL, the zoning, marketing, trade and compliance with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) safeguard conditions. These are the issues that we should be discussing as we wait for the sugar Bill which is being proposed by Hon. Wamunyinyi.
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6 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
With that, I beg to support.
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1 Oct 2020 in National Assembly:
Thank you, Hon. Speaker. On behalf of the Hon. Leader of the Majority Party, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House: Report of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements of the Rural Electrification Scheme, Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) for the year ended 30th June 2019, and the certificate therein. Report of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Limited for the year ended 30th June 2019, and the certificates therein. Report of the Auditor General and Financial Statements of the Kenya Youth Employment Opportunities Project, Certificate No. 5812 KE, ...
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