Uhuru Kenyatta

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1051 to 1060 of 1516.

• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) The Deputy Speaker directed that we provide more information by drawing comparison between wheat produced by Kenyan farmers and rice produced by Tanzania and Uganda farmers which attracts 35 per cent Import Duty to discourage undue competition, whereas the one of Kenya is rated at 10 per cent Import Duty which encourages competition from European farmers. Mr. Speaker, Sir, since the 1st of January 2005 when the Customs Union Common External Tariff (CUCET)came into force, rice and wheat grains were classified as sensitive products attracting common external tariff of 75 per cent ... view
• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, due to shortage of wheat grain in the East African Community, no single country has, since 2005, applied the CET rate of 35 per cent. Tanzania has been applying 10 per cent while Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi have been applying 0 per cent on all their wheat grain imports. It is only Kenya that has been applying a higher rate of duty on wheat imports under the EACCET. That is 35 per cent in 2007/2008, 10 per cent in 2008/2009 and 25 per cent in 2009/2010 to provide some level of protection to our farmers. Protection through ... view
• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I take the recommendation from the hon. Member positively and, indeed, as he has correctly stated, Kenya cannot, on its own, take unilateral decisions. But I have taken his request positively and, through the relevant line Ministry, we will try and see how we can work with millers to ensure that before they import, they can, first and foremost, purchase what is available locally. So, I take that in good consideration! view
• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I disagree with the point that what we have done is actually to export jobs. I have repeated - and I want to do it again - that Kenya produced, to be precise, 337,000 tonnes in 2008 against the consumption in Kenya alone of more than 950,000 tonnes. For the region, we are only producing in terms of wheat, 20 per cent of our demands. I agree that through the Ministry of Agriculture, we need to do everything possible to see how we can expand wheat production. Indeed, I believe they have their own programme and we, ... view
• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Question was addressing itself more to wheat as opposed to rice. I mentioned in my response that the reason for the 35 per cent is because of a bilateral agreement between Kenya and Pakistan. It is a trade off for rice and tea. Like I said, in other countries, they are producing adequate supply and that is why they have the higher tariff rate. We still have a shortfall in our country as it stands currently and like I said, we need to honour our bilateral agreement with Pakistan because it has its direct effect on ... view
• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, within the funds that are available, we are trying to do everything that we can through the NCPB to support not just our wheat farmers, but our maize farmers and all the other farmers in this country. view
• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I think the objective of the Government is not just to protect millers. We also have to protect consumers. I have said that we are not producing adequate supply. Indeed, I agree with the hon. Member and I think, as a Government, we have continued to increase the allocation to the agricultural sector in order to support our farmers. I mentioned in my response that we need to address the structural and competitive issues surrounding agriculture in this country. As a Government, that has been our priority and it will continue to be our priority. view
• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am not aware that it is only good for Githeri, view
• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: and Irio . I am sure that it is also good quality and it is able to be milled adequately. We have not yet received such complaints. So, we have no intention of lowering that duty. view
• 14 Jul 2010 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are using the channels that are, indeed, available through the community headquarters. We did raise this particular issue at the post-budget meeting and we intend to continue addressing ourselves to our counterparts in the four other member countries. But as I said, this is always an issue of trade off. At the end of the day, if Kenya alone was to push, for example, and say that we shall maintain our duty rate at 35 per cent or even applies for that stay, the subsequent consequence of that is that other member countries can then turn ... view