Prof. Margaret Kamar

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 841 to 850 of 3067.

• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: counties but has not come to this House. This is very important because the structure and the presence of the Senate is meant to protect the interests of the counties. Devolution is here to stay. It is very important for us all to ensure that it succeeds in the right manner and that the devolved units receive the right resources. view
• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: Madam Temporary Speaker, you and I have been in the East African Community (EAC). I am happy that you have outlined the commitment or lack of it from our partner countries. I want to laud the President for being on the frontline when it comes to African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AFCFTA) Agreement. I say this because sometimes the smaller units can create problems because we have very few people yet, we must have a quorum of all the six countries. There are always challenges when there are disagreements or suspicions and one partner State lags behind. When one ... view
• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: Madam Temporary Speaker, I was also happy with the reforms which the President proposed. He stated very clearly that going forward the reforms in the agriculture sector will be farmer-centric and will be focused on reducing the cost of food. This is extremely important because the cost of production in Kenya is very prohibitive. We found out through a Report that came to this House that maize farmers are not very sure how much they are going to plant this year notwithstanding the fact that the rains have reduced. They are asking themselves how they can invest money which they ... view
• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: Madam Temporary Speaker, I am glad that the President wants the new reforms to pay attention to the farmer, reduce the costs and be able to give value-addition. My call is that it is good sometimes when we have problems such as we had last year over the production and the problems that the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) had because we can now look at the issues in a very sober manner and be able to rescue those who are suffering innocently. This is because we have many farmers who are suffering innocently as we are talking in ... view
• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: One of the other issues that came out of this was increasing agricultural value- addition. Value-addition is what is helping people in the agricultural sector worldwide. The problem in Kenya is that we sell our produce raw, including exporting tea that has not been packaged properly. When you go to the shelves you will find Kenyan tea being called English Breakfast Tea and Earl Grey Tea. The reason is that countries that do not have this produce are doing value-addition, creating jobs for their people and branding that which is ours. Value-addition is very important. We need to reach a ... view
• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: Madam Temporary Speaker, this is very important because even in the ACP that I sit we talk about trade between Africa and Europe. Europe normally says that they want us to export anything to them except arms. However, we cannot export potatoes because they will get spoilt along the way. We can add value and convert the same potatoes into flour. I lived in Canada where they import potatoes that have been dried and grind them into flour. We will be able to export to any of these countries. view
• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: We need to add value and I hope that the Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries will pay attention to the paragraphs that the President outlined and support the farmers to add value. Notwithstanding the fact that this is a devolved function and we are expecting our governors to also pick from what the President said and help the farmers add value. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate. view
• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: Madam Temporary Speaker, the President also talked of offering incentives to farmers. This is what we said in our Report. I hope that as the President has given the Committee and the Cabinet Secretary the leeway to come up with bold and transformative interventions to revive the agricultural sector and make it sustainable, that they will read the recommendations that went through this House. The recommendations that went through this House will capture all these areas: Cost reduction, increasing agricultural value-addition and offering incentives. This House gave a lot of very strong recommendations. If they really read this Report they ... view
• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: depressed people? If we are among the most depressed, we should ask ourselves pertinent questions. It is important to ensure that there are counselors and chaplains in our institutions, so that our youth know how to protect themselves. The truth of the matter is that we need more than just the chaplaincy and counseling. We need to start training our students to know how to protect themselves against real and unsuspecting enemies who are their friends but may take advantage of them. It is sad that we lost a doctor in the making. That was somebody who was to graduate ... view
• 11 Apr 2019 in Senate: Madam Temporary Speaker, I join my colleagues in supporting this Motion of Adjournment. I wish my colleagues well and I believe we will have active sessions with the people that elected us. I am grateful that we will have the Legislative Summit in Kisumu where we will interact with Members of County Assemblies (MCAs). One of the greatest expectations of MCAs is the Ward Development Fund and I am glad that we are done with the Bill. That is an important Bill not just for MCAs but for all of us who believe in devolution and especially this House which ... view