Florence Mwikali Mutua

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 291 to 300 of 346.

• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: that was done in Kenya was done in 2010. That was a very long time ago. We have requested the Sugar Directorate to do another survey for Kenyans to know what their consumption is at the moment. Kenya’s sugar production cost is very high. We spend US$550 per metric tonne while other regions are spending US$415 per metric tonne. This is because we are still using very archaic machinery, very old methods of planting and small uneconomic farms instead of doing large-scale farming. We are not embracing technology and planting fast-growing sugarcane. We still rely on rain-fed farming. view
• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: Lastly, we have not really utilised the by-products of sugarcane. Instead, we are only interested in sugar itself. We are very happy that the Government, as it said, bailed out Mumias Sugar Company. However, we all need to understand what that money did. There are still very many issues that are coming up. We even understand that most of the farmers were never paid. So, it is important to understand where that money went. view
• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: Modernisation of factory technology is very important. The issue of injecting fresh capital is welcome to the poor performing government-owned mills. However, it is very important for the people who are injecting this money to sit with the relevant stakeholders and prioritise what the funds will do. Our mills’ machinery is outdated. This is one of the key areas which we thought any money that is brought to bail out our mills would focus on. view
• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: Also of importance is the speedy exploitation of viable options that will see the ministry fast track privatisation of the five public sector-owned sugar mills. As we do this, we need to understand that agriculture is a devolved function and we need to involve the relevant people before any decisions are taken on such issues. Privatisation should also be done in a more accountable way. County governments must be involved. All the sector players should also be involved on these issues. view
• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: The issues of machinery and ancestral land should be dealt with independently because they have been raised severally. We have had issues of COMESA for the last 13 years but nothing has been done. No concrete measures have been put in place to ensure that our sugar is competitive. We are breaking our legs in the last minute all the time trying to add another year when it comes to the issue of COMESA. Sugar business is good but not for the farmers. view
• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: The issue of illegal sugar has brought another issue in the repackaging of sugar. We see Mumias sugar being repackaged. Nowadays, most of us can attest to this fact. Supermarkets have their own sugar which they repackage. We do not know where these supermarkets get their sugar from. It is important to understand where they get their sugar from. They are repackaging their sugar nowadays. view
• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: Interestingly, none of the officers we interviewed agreed that sugar comes from Kismayu and other areas. The Committee did a lot of work. We even went as far as Msambweni and saw what happens there. However, none of the officers - even the NIS - we interviewed agreed that he or she knew of any sugar coming through those funny ports. It is very sad that the Government is not aware of what is happening. I am sure, as Hon. Midiwo has said, the barons are known. There is no way Florence Mutua can bring sugar into this country because ... view
• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: As I finish, it is very sad to note that the amendment Hon. Washiali was moving would have actually “killed” a very key recommendation that we had. Recommendation 115 reads:- The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor. view
• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: “THAT, any officer from the board and management of MSC and KRA responsible for the fictitious exports of sugar between 2006-2012 be held responsible for abuse of procedures and abuse of office”. It would have been very meaningless to narrow it to one person. We are happy that the Speaker has made a very good judgement on that issue. view
• 18 Feb 2016 in National Assembly: Under our observation we got 18 companies that involved themselves in very funny sugar deals. We have requested that three of those companies be blacklisted. We hope, as a Committee that the companies that will be blacklisted will not go through the backdoor and come with another name to continue doing the funny business they are doing now. view