James Opiyo Wandayi

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1201 to 1210 of 1604.

• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to support this amendment Bill by my friend, hon. Mbadi. It is the work of any government to ensure that life is bearable for its citizens. The Chair is, of course, aware that the Jubilee Government has not done well in this front. However, if I go straight to the matter, taxation cannot just be an end in itself. Taxation is supposed to serve a purpose. If we continue to levy taxes and charge VAT on essential commodities that every common person in this country uses every single day, we are not ... view
• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: As we do this, it is important also to point out that a Government worth its salt needs to have policies in place that should guide its actions. A Government should not be acting at the spur of the moment. For instance, on the matter of supporting agriculture, this Government has not done well at all. Indeed, many developed countries and some developing, have gone to an extent of religiously subsidizing agriculture. That is why you find it common every now and then that our farm produce cannot compete effectively with the produce from other countries. That is why you ... view
• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: imports, invariably are cheaper than our local produce. For instance, the issue of subsidized fertilizer, which is not involved, there is no policy whatsoever that this Government has come up with. In fact, there is even no budgetary allocation for this very vital item. This matter has been left to the whims of the Executive that when the President wakes up when he is in good mood, he can decide to direct the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to allocate some money to import fertilizer at subsidized rates and give it to farmers. view
• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: We cannot develop as a country in this manner. There is no policy or budgetary allocation and yet you want Kenyans to believe that the Jubilee Government is providing subsidized fertilizer. How much of it has been budgeted for? For how long is it going to be in place and who is charged with the responsibility of managing it? These are valid questions. As I speak, the issue of subsidized fertilizer is shrouded in great mystery. Indeed, even the so called National Cereals and Produce Board has no mandate to get involved in the importation of fertilizer to be supplied ... view
• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: I am happy that there is a Bill which is coming, which I want to pre-empt, by my very good friend, hon. Chris Wamalwa, that perhaps if passed will address this issue and put to rest the question of people thinking that they can run the business of developing the country like they do in their homes. It is not possible that we can subject the taxpayers to expenditures worth billions of shillings in the name of subsidized fertilizer and there is no framework at all. There is no framework whatsoever that governs this very essential undertaking. That is certainly ... view
• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: One other issue that needs to be stressed; even as we address the issue of taxation and the cost of living of the ordinary Kenyan it must be pointed out that the matter of service delivery is very critical. You are aware that land remains an essential factor of production. Indeed, it is pointless to provide subsidized fertilizer and to zero-rate or tax- exempt farm inputs when the question of land is not being addressed adequately. Currently, we have an artificial paralysis in the land sector. Every Kenyan knows that there is an artificial paralysis in the land sector, which ... view
• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: What is happening currently is that you find an artificial tug of war between the Cabinet Secretary for Lands and the National Land Commission. It is not a question of personal differences between the Cabinet Secretary for Lands and the Chairperson of the National Land Commission, it is basically a deliberate attempt by negative forces to emasculate a constitutional Commission, so that they can get avenues to continue perpetuating graft and corruption in the way public affairs are managed. This is an issue that this House will have to address, one way or the other and sooner rather than later. ... view
• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: Indeed, this kind of paralysis cannot be accepted. It cannot be allowed to continue if they are going to continuously let Kenyans believe that as a country, we are concerned about their welfare. If we cannot put the matters in the land sector in the right perspective, if we cannot address the issues that underlie the paralysis in land sector, we are allowing our Government to continue losing money which it would have collected through revenue that comes through land transactions. We do this and at the same time, we start lamenting that there is a problem of the wage ... view
• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: Thank you, hon. Speaker. I want to support this Motion but with some observations. It is important to note from the outset that there has been very little consideration given to the views of the various departmental committees. This is something which has happened not once, twice but thrice. view
• 19 Mar 2014 in National Assembly: There is this tendency by the Budget and Appropriations Committee to take for granted the views of the various Departmental Committees in as far as appropriation of funds is concerned. Perhaps, it is because of the timeframe or the time limit that they operate under. view