National Assembly · Morning Sitting
Wednesday, 31 July 2024
Members debated an amendment to the CEO qualification clause, with some urging that a master’s degree not be mandatory and emphasizing managerial experience, while others highlighted the need for analytical skills. The House proceeded with several procedural amendments to clauses, including grammatical corrections and clarifications, and expressed support for measures that strengthen farmer cooperatives. Members debated the removal of Clause 31, arguing that multiple crop tribunals are redundant and wasteful and supporting its deletion in favour of a single, possibly co‑operative‑based tribunal. They also urged the inclusion of mandatory alternative dispute resolution mechanisms before tribunal escalation and raised concerns about county governments managing cotton collection centres. Further amendments addressed penalty levels and appeal rights in Clause 33. Members debated the need for clear qualification criteria for Council of Governors appointments in the sugar sector and contested the appropriate body to manage the levy for infrastructure repairs, favouring KURA over county control. The Committee rejected several Senate amendments, including one on levying imported sugar and another that would delete a clause guaranteeing growers’ representation, while agreeing on reporting provisions. The discussions highlighted tensions between the Senate and National Assembly over policy details affecting the sugar industry.
Hon. Members, there is no quorum. I direct that the Quorum Bell be rung for 10 minutes.
[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]
Switch on my microphone. Okay, Hon. Members, we may begin. First Order.
Hon. Members, we shall deal with Papers later. Now we can proceed to the next Order.
Member for Kacheliba, Hon. Titus Letoo, do you have a Statement?
Yes.
Is it here?
Yes, I have it here.
Okay.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I wish to request for a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security regarding a recent attack by bandits in Kases Village, Kacheliba Constituency. Hon. Deputy Speaker, on Thursday, precisely last week on 25th July 2024, Kases Village in Kasai Ward, Kacheliba Cons…
31950149, who were engaged in alluvial gold mining. Ms. Cheposang’il Rengeyei unfortunately left behind a five-months-old baby who is now an orphan. That incident underscores the pressing need to address the security situation in Kacheliba Constituency. It is worth noting that the attack happened barely a few months after the Ministry deployed the National Police Reservists to the area and yet, th…
Hon. (Dr) Pukose, I can see that you have pressed the intervention button. Do you want to comment on this request for a statement?
Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I want to comment on the request for statement by Hon. Lotee, who is my neighbour. The people of Kacheliba have suffered as a result of cattle rustling. It is important for the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs to take this matter very seriously. We have witnessed loss of lives and livestock, which is the major source of livelihood for th…
The Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs. He is not here. Is there any member of the Committee here? Leader of the Majority Party, ensure that the Committee acts on this matter and gives a response within a week.
The next request for a statement is by Hon. Dorothy Ikiara.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I wish to request for a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health regarding the status of the Kimathi Cancer Centre at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology. The Dedan Kimathi University Cancer Management Centre was launched as a crucial healthcare initiative aimed at providing comprehensi…
The Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health.
Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Hon. Duncan Maina Mathenge, the Member for Nyeri Town, is a Member of my Committee. I can confirm that he has been following up on this matter. I assure the Member that I will give a response in two weeks’ time.
Next Order.
Next Order.
Proceed, Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe.
[(Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe consulted the Clerks-at-the-Table)]
Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, the Senate amendments to the Sugar Bill, (National Assembly Bill No. 34 of 2022) , be now considered. This Bill came to this House way back in the last Parliament. It was considered. When Parliament adjourned sine die, we adopted it in the 13th Parliament. It was considered in this House and then it was taken to the Senate. Members e…
[(Question proposed)]
Put the Question.
Is it the mood of the House that I now put the Question?
Yes.
[(Question put and agreed to)]
Hon. Members, we will proceed to Order No. 11. The Sugar Bill is not ready for the Committee of the whole House for now. I am told there has to be some discussions between the Clerk’s desk and the Departmental Committee. We will move on to Order No.11 as they consult.
Hon. Temporary Chairperson, the Committee considered the Senate proposal for the new Schedule. It does not capture the entire contents of the proposal by the National Assembly and we had good reasons for that. This is one of the issues that will be discussed in the mediation committee. Therefore, the Committee rejected this proposal. The Temporary Chairlady (Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai) : Hon. Jus…
[(Question of the new Schedule proposed)]
[(The new Schedule was read a First Time)]
[(Question that the new Schedule be read a Second Time, proposed)]
Hon. Temporary Chairlady, at times, I wonder why we over-protect millers. The people we should protect are the farmers. The millers should protect themselves by offering competitive prices, paying on time and using proper weighing scales. A farmer who decides to plant sugarcane should sell the cane anywhere, even if it is in Uganda, as long as they are paid money to sort out their bills. The senti…
Hon. Temporary Chairlady, what my colleague, Hon. Didmus Barasa, has said is quite true. This Bill appears to be looking at the miller as the main person. The core person in the sugar industry is the farmer. When we have a Bill that tries to protect millers at the expense of farmers, it only shows that we have gone wrong and rogue. We have missed the target. The person to be protected is the farme…
The elephant in the room is this idea of zoning. If you look at what we have dealt with before this, we rejected any element of zoning because we do not want our farmers to be boxed into a corner and, therefore, have absolute control in the hands of an individual called a miller. Hon. Temporary Chairlady, in liberalised market economies, people are allowed to sell as and when they deem necessary.…
Thank you, Hon. Temporary Chairlady. I am lucky because I was part of the Committee on Implementation in the last Parliament that physically visited sugar factories on this issue in sugar belt zones. We visited Mumias, Chemelil and Muhoroni sugar factories. While there, farmers rejected the issue of zoning in totality. I support what Hon. Melly, Hon. Jared and Hon. Didmus Barasa have put across. …
[(Question, that the new Schedule be read a Second Time, put and negatived)]
Hon. Temporary Chairlady, the Senate Amendment to Clause 2 brings in the definition of ‘sugar-cane zone’, which is the issue we have been discussing. We reject that definition as well. The Temporary Chairlady (Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai) : I would want to put the Question because this is a straightforward matter.
Hon. Wangwe.
Hon. Temporary Chairlady, whereas this matter is straightforward, it is important to be on the Hansard. The cancer in the sugar industry is the use of the word “zoning”. The moment you mention the word “zone”, it behaves more or less like the cancer in a human being. Therefore, I want us to make sure that zoning is not there. However, let us have discipline in the sector. Let us invite order in th…
I want this point to be on the Hansard. There are cases in Kisumu where the miller refuses to take cane from a particular person because he supports Hon. Shakeel or Hon. Melly. There are certain millers who have tried to oppose Members of Parliament. Some said that they would spend Ksh10 million each to get rid of three Members of Parliament. Bad luck for them, because the three of us are here. M…
[(Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and negatived)]
Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the Committee do report to the House its consideration of the Senate Amendments to the Sugar Bill, (National Assembly Bill No.54 of 2022) , and its approval thereof with amendments.
[(Question proposed)]
[(Question put and agreed to)]
Hon. Members, as you are aware, we have considered three Bills. We will start with the reporting of the first one we did. I therefore call upon the Chairperson to move reporting.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House has considered the Pensions (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 44 of 2022) and approved the same with amendments. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.
Mover.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move that this House do agree with the Committee in the said Report. I request Hon. Brighton Yegon to second.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, I second.
[(Question proposed)]
Hon. Members, for obvious reasons, I defer putting the Question on this matter until the next time it is slotted in the Order Paper.
[(Putting of the Question deferred)]
We, therefore, move to the Sugar Bill. Hon. Temporary Chairlady.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House has considered the Sugar Bill, (National Assembly Bill No. 54 of 2022) , and approved the same with amendments.
Mover.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee in the said report. I also request Hon. Nabii Nabwera to second the Motion for agreement with the report of the Committee of the whole House.
Hon. Nabii.
I second.
[(Question proposed)]
[(Putting of the Question deferred)]
The next Bill that was considered this morning is the Cotton Industry Development Bill.
Temporary Chairlady.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House is considering the Cotton Industry Bill (Senate No. 5 of 2023) , and seeks leave to sit again.
Mover, Hon. Emaase.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee in the said Report. I request Hon. Mutuse to second the Motion for agreement with the report of the Committee of the Whole House.
I second.
[(Question proposed)]
[(Putting of the Question deferred)]
Hon. Members, the time being 1.09