Prof. Sam Ongeri

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 471 to 480 of 1925.

• 17 Nov 2020 in Senate: operator. These days, everybody says I am a Jua Kali operator. This is because we sanitized it and became a very respectable profession. People earn incomes through that level. They create their small micro enterprises, micro industries and earn decent incomes and cope with the vagaries of life. I must at this stage comment on the issue of the BBI. BBI is not a political tool. It is looking at those elements that were unable to create favourable climate for us to create wealth and capital for our nation. The transfer of 35 per cent of resources to county governments ... view
• 17 Nov 2020 in Senate: 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
• 17 Nov 2020 in Senate: level. Some of the programmes that are in Schedule IV for county governments Those must be fully developed from the national Government to county governments so that they can feel the full impact of the economy. They can feel the full impact of funding at the county level and the question of marginalization does not arise. Secondly, the BBI is not going to create positions for anyone. It is a question of realigning the governance structure, so that the delivery method can be much better than before. I have heard the opponents of BBI giving flimsy excuses that they are ... view
• 10 Nov 2020 in Senate: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Let me weigh in on this very important topic of tea production. Indeed, we had a Select Committee, which I was a Member. We went round and listened to the views of farmers. We categorized those views under three categories. They were the issues dealing with the thumb-gate prices, the green leaf and issues surrounding the agricultural expansion programmes that will serve the small-scale holders of tea, so that they can maximize on their production in terms of kilogrammes. They will, hence be able to get handsome returns from tea farming. view
• 10 Nov 2020 in Senate: We realized that one of the elements that was amiss at that time was the issue of subsidized fertilizers. When it was left to the market forces, the fertilizer cost went beyond the reach of the farmer. They hoped that using collective bargaining agreements in terms of the volume and the number of small-scale holders, through the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) and other institutions, they would be able to get a fair price. Unfortunately, they have not had that opportunity to get a fair price. Therefore, right at the farm level, we saw that the application of fertilizers was ... view
• 10 Nov 2020 in Senate: There were also problems at the auction market. The auctioneers are local and international players who can manipulate that market in many ways. You will realise that some products are offered on auction and others are offered on private sale. If you are not careful, you can put a big chunk of sales that belong to the small-scale farmers to private sales, which attracts low prices to the detriment of farmers. Therefore, something has to be done at the auction. We noted that some of the producers are large-scale farmers who control up to 44 per cent of the tea ... view
• 10 Nov 2020 in Senate: A Bill was brought in this House and it has now gone to the other House. Our maximum concentration should be on how we can fast track that Bill for it to become an Act of Parliament. When the Bill was taken for public hearing, we looked at the Tea Act, which was done some time back, and we realized that it was difficult to reintroduce an amendment to that Act because of the nature of its introduction and the interest that was entrenched in it. The regulations that were brought by the Cabinet Secretary created so much storm. The ... view
• 5 Nov 2020 in Senate: Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to also weigh in on an important topic on the Operationalization of Section 46 of the Basic Education Act, 2013. I thank Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve for bringing this Motion to this House. Let me put it on record that in 2009, as the Minister for Education, I was responsible for establishing the National Special Needs Education Policy that clearly enunciated what needed to be done, particularly, by coming up with comprehensive strategies and policies to improve service to children with special needs. You can make reference to that policy ... view
• 5 Nov 2020 in Senate: 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
• 5 Nov 2020 in Senate: You cannot train such a child in the normal way by having them go to a normal classroom to listen to a teacher teaching using a blackboard with a chalk. Even if tablets are used, their attention span is much reduced in some of the cases. Their physical ability to handle certain gadgets may be limited to a certain extend. Their being in a learning environment helps them to be attended to, based on their health status. Some may have difficulties in articulation. Therefore, speech therapy may be an important addition to what they need within the centres. For some, ... view