Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. 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 Lands regarding status and ownership of a parcel of public land in Githunguri Constituency, Kiambu County. 10th...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. With your permission, allow me to just stress to the Cabinet Secretary that it is imperative for him to always pronounce statements in this House that are followed by actions. I refer to a session in November last year when...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Thank you. I oblige. I beg to ask the following Question. Could the Cabinet Secretary:

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for the response. However, I am not satisfied with your statement that no student has been suspended from NEMIS from Githunguri Constituency. This is backed by some facts that I can table on the Floor of this House. Over 311 students,...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Yes, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, if there is anything that has made the members of producer co-operatives go bankrupt and dissolve co- operatives, fight and kill each other, it is this. For example, the famous Mbo-i-Kamiti Farmers Company in Kiambu County, where members have killed each other...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I just wanted the Chairperson to clarify something. When she says that five primary co-operatives can register as a secondary co-operative, do those five primary co-operatives have a minimum threshold in terms of the number of members each should comprise of? The...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, we wanted the Co-operatives Bill so that we can eliminate career board members. They always want to be elected as board members or assert themselves as such, so that they can be there for long and earn salaries like any employed person....

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Allow me to come back to the Vice-Chairlady of the Committee presenting the amendments to clarify to us whether there is a criterion the Commissioner may use in the approval.

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, allow me to thank the Vice-Chairperson and the members of the Committee who saw it fit to bring this amendment. I fully support it. In the past, producer co-operatives have had their information leaked to SACCOs, lenders, commercial ventures and suppliers to...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I need to be on record that the reason we were earnestly looking forward to this Bill is because of the mess that commissioners for co-operatives have caused in our primary co-operatives. There have been a lot of issues, irregularities and lack...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Chairman, I have reservations about this amendment. The Temporary Chairman (Hon. Omboko Milemba) : Proceed. We hear you. Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Because county governments' chief executive officers (CEO) are politicians, they will work towards limiting any other activity that may come from...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I rise to fully support this amendment. The justification given by the Chair is applicable. I note that this is going to sort out a lot of governance issues that have been experienced in the past where, for example, directors of co-operatives...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, women have been the labourers for a long time when it comes to the primary producer co- operatives. They work hard to produce milk but, when it comes to the accounting behind the milk card, only men are considered. Therefore, women end...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I ask to be forgiven for bringing these issues so heavily because... The Temporary Chairman (Hon. Omboko Milemba) : There is no forgiveness here. Just state your point. Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, pardon me for re-projecting the issue....

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, if there is anything that has made the members of producer co-operatives go bankrupt and dissolve co- operatives, fight and kill each other, it is this. For example, the famous Mbo-i-Kamiti Farmers Company in Kiambu County, where members have killed each other...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I just wanted the Chairperson to clarify something. When she says that five primary co-operatives can register as a secondary co-operative, do those five primary co-operatives have a minimum threshold in terms of the number of members each should comprise of? The...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, we wanted the Co-operatives Bill so that we can eliminate career board members. They always want to be elected as board members or assert themselves as such, so that they can be there for long and earn salaries like any employed person....

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Allow me to come back to the Vice-Chairlady of the Committee presenting the amendments to clarify to us whether there is a criterion the Commissioner may use in the approval.

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, allow me to thank the Vice-Chairperson and the members of the Committee who saw it fit to bring this amendment. I fully support it. In the past, producer co-operatives have had their information leaked to SACCOs, lenders, commercial ventures and suppliers to...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I need to be on record that the reason we were earnestly looking forward to this Bill is because of the mess that commissioners for co-operatives have caused in our primary co-operatives. There have been a lot of issues, irregularities and lack...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Chairman, I have reservations about this amendment. The Temporary Chairman (Hon. Omboko Milemba) : Proceed. We hear you. Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Because county governments' chief executive officers (CEO) are politicians, they will work towards limiting any other activity that may come from...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I rise to fully support this amendment. The justification given by the Chair is applicable. I note that this is going to sort out a lot of governance issues that have been experienced in the past where, for example, directors of co-operatives...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, women have been the labourers for a long time when it comes to the primary producer co- operatives. They work hard to produce milk but, when it comes to the accounting behind the milk card, only men are considered. Therefore, women end...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I ask to be forgiven for bringing these issues so heavily because... The Temporary Chairman (Hon. Omboko Milemba) : There is no forgiveness here. Just state your point. Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, pardon me for re-projecting the issue....

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) I rise to support this wonderful Bill. 27th November 2024 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES 47 Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA)By the grace of God, I was here in the last Parliament, and I know the zeal and the desire Hon. Kuria Kimani had to have for...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) I rise to support this wonderful Bill. 27th November 2024 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES 47 Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA)By the grace of God, I was here in the last Parliament, and I know the zeal and the desire Hon. Kuria Kimani had to have for...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA)Hon. Temporary Chairlady, this was a contentious issue. I am happy because the Chairperson has included or inserted the words “international standard”. So, I support the amendment.(Clause 44 as amended agreed to)The Temporary Chairlady(Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai): Thank you very much. Question, that the words to...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Thank you. The Temporary Chairlady (Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai) : Hon. Members, as you comment, please, bear in mind that it is 10 per cent of the 2 per cent. Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Yes, we understand it is 10 per cent of the...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairlady, I need to get clarification from the Chairman of the Committee so that we do not override an issue of concern. When we are talking about permits, there is a clause I had read - sorry, I do not have my notes...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to lay the following Paper…

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I am honoured, indeed, to participate and be on record that I have supported this Bill because this is what we have been waiting for. I am a member of many co-operatives in my society, community and constituency because, obviously,...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Speaker, I am dressed like mothers of the Mothers’ Union because I had joined them for a very special meeting for the Mothers’ Union of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) in my constituency. Being one of them, I had to attend the event...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I wish to apologise for my absence earlier in the afternoon. I am from my constituency where I had a forum. If you look at the way I am dressed, you will note that I have covered my head because I...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Speaker, I am waiting for the Clerk to bring it for my signature. RESPONSES TO REQUESTS FOR STATEMENTS

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) In the coffee sector, Hon. Temporary Chairman, we have a 'Q-grading system.' That is strictly a grading system that allows most of our small-scale farmers in this country to sell coffee that is known as speciality coffee. That is a world standard. It is not...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, in as much as we want to have an all-inclusive sector in the coffee industry, I am a bit hesitant to agree with Hon. Gichimu, and I will give a reason. We have had a lot of mess in the coffee co-...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, coffee is produced locally but heavily consumed internationally. The standards we set here may only favour domestic markets. We may need to come up with standards that are set to accommodate us in the international market, such as the EurepGAP and many...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) I would like to assist our Committee Chairperson. It seems as if there is a double-entry for the large-scale farmers. They are defined as estate growers and then as large-scale farmers. That is a double-entry. We propose to leave it as it was. The Temporary...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) The reason why we were looking forward to this new Coffee Bill is so that we can run away from the many bureaucracies that are created during law-making like we are doing now. Why force a farmer to go to the Kenya Bureau of Standards...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Allow me to speak as a farmer, as I argue out this space. We are speaking about a member who is going to be part of the Coffee Board of Kenya. What is the function of the Coffee Board of Kenya? One of the functions...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) I want to ask the Chairman to try and help us understand so that we can meet somewhere. This is because we are all working towards the benefit of all the farmers. Now that he is introducing a term called large-scale farmers, are they well...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I am trying to resonate in the line of Hon. Gichimu, in the space of including the large-scale farmers. In the language of coffee farmers, we use the word estate farmers. Those estate farmers may not have a union, but they have...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) I agree that we go in the direction of the Chair and accommodate the request by Hon. Gichimu. The Temporary Chairman (Hon. Farah Maalim) : Hon. Gichimu, are you okay with that? What do I do now? I do not have the amendment to accommodate...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) I still want to support the Chairperson's position, but allow me to speak on the politics of coffee. If we leave this opportunity of nominating somebody to the Coffee Board of Kenya without any of the qualifications that we are asking for, we are just...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Thank you, Hon. Chairman. I rise to support the Chairman’s proposal. It is imperative that we get to know the details and the 14th November 2024 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES 44 Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA)processes of making sure that we get quality coffee. I am...

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri, UDA) Hon. Temporary Speaker, I seek your indulgence on this matter because five babies are born every hour in this country. If we do not prioritise such issues, by the time we discuss this matter at six o’clock, how many more babies will have been born...