Rt. Hon.(Eng) Raila Amolo Odinga

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 641 to 650 of 1732.

• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, you are right that the two Ministers are prepared with answers, but the answers actually complement each other. I do not know whether in our practice it is possible for the two Ministers to answer this Question. In that case, one will be giving information to the other Minister. view
• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, in that case, the Question will be answered by the Minister for Public Health and Sanitation. view
• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I have already said, this is an issue which cuts across two Ministries. One Minister has got the information which the hon. Member requires in part “a” of his Question. The other Minister has got the funding for the money that is needed to resolve the problem. That was the reason why I had a problem regarding who should answer the Question. It is because the answers were complementing each other. But the other Minister can more competently provide the information to the House as to how this matter will be resolved. The other Minister can ... view
• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, today, I have chosen to address the House on the cost of living and the Government intervention to assist the poor and the vulnerable. view
• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, Kenyans are experiencing a very sharp rise in the cost of living. The high cost of petroleum has ignited a spiral effect. Until recently, the national rate of inflation stood at 3 per cent. It has increased to 9 per cent. Increased food prices are responsible for 60 per cent of the total inflation. Local prices have risen sharply largely due to the emerging drought. Globally, surging demand in growing economies like China, India and Brazil, severe drought in China, massive floods in America and Australia, tsunami and earthquakes in Japan and increased use of maize to ... view
• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, our people are adversely affected by these high prices. The Government will implement a strong package of measures to cushion the poor and the vulnerable. Such measures are both short-term and long-term to find solutions that are sustainable. For immediate relief, the Government has removed all taxes and levies on kerosene to reduce the cost of lighting and cooking energy. This will reduce the kerosene price by Kshs5.66 per litre, in addition to the reduction of Kshs2 per litre announced by the Treasury last week. That makes a total reduction of Kshs7.66 per litre. view
• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, proper legislation will be introduced in this House as soon as possible to give effect to these measures. I expect that this House will act with outmost urgency so that Kenyans receive this much needed relief very soon. The rates of the current taxes and levies on petroleum products have remained constant since the year 2000, with the exception of the Road Maintenance Levy which was raised by Kshs1 per litre in the year 2007. In addition, the Government reduced the profit margin on regulated products such as kerosene, diesel and petrol from Kshs6 per litre to ... view
• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, in addition, the Government, within the framework of the East African Community, will remove import duty on wheat and maize imported by private millers. We have directed the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to provide storage facilities for use by the private millers who import wheat or maize. The Government, itself, will not import wheat or maize. Given the hike in international prices, duty free import of maize and wheat will not adversely affect our local farmers. Rather, together with the available stock of maize, the private imports will make sure that there will be adequate ... view
• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the longer term, it is crucial to reduce dependency on imported oil and to secure self sufficiency in food. We will achieve these goals by going green in this country. We will maximize generation of geothermal and other renewable energy, and totally replace kerosene with clean energy. The Government will also mandate blending of gasoline with ethanol, both to reduce costs and to ensure cleaner and safer air to Kenyans. view
• 27 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, it should be recalled that the maximum wage was increased by 10 per cent just last year. The Government has agreed to further increase the minimum wage to be announced on Labour Day. Such increment should have come after two years but we will do it now to address the sharp rise in the cost of living. Going forward, the Government intends to shift from “cost of living” wage adjustments to productivity-based wage adjustments. Resources are being provided by the Ministry of Labour to set up a productivity centre. Mr. Speaker, Sir, creating jobs is equally important. ... view