I have never met Linturi, Agriculture nominee denies social media claims

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Nominee Dr Andrew Karanja has promised to crash cartels in the fertiliser industry if approved by the Parliament.

Dr Karanja,62, who appeared before the Parliamentary Appointments Committee chaired by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula said that he was ready to take the bull by its horns to ensure that Kenyans do not incur losses occasioned by infiltration of cartels in the sector.

He promised the vetting panel that he will deal with cartels to ensure farmers get the right fertilize and that cartels thrive where there is lack of openness and would ensure there is a multiagency approach on the fertilizer issue with a focus on central procurement being removed.

“Dealing with cartels is a big issue, I am giving them notice that they will be out of business when I get to office since integrity when dealing with farmers’ interests will be a matter of priority, we will put systems in place and involve all government agencies,” said Dr Karanja.

He has been nominated to  take up the position formerly held by Mithika Linturi who faced an impeachment motion over fake fertiliser scandal.

The Cabinet nominee denied having worked as a Personal Assistant to Linturi and denied having met him before in response to National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwah question on whether he had worked with the former CS saying he was surprised by the reports in public domain which were not true.

The Cabinet Secretary Nominee told the committees that he has assets  worth Sh 214 million made up of family residences, apartments, vehicles and cash deposit in various bank accounts which he has accrued over his over 30 years that he has been in public service.

Suna East MP Junet Mohammed informed him that the ministry of Agriculture had various challenges for the past seven years, describing it  as  a bedroom of corruption in government and that having a doctorate degree in Agriculture and dealing with corruption are two different things.

Junet asked the nominee what he would to avoid being compromised by cartels who were willing to make him a billionaire in a few months. He responded  that he will seek divine intervention to ensure he does not fall into their trap if he gets to office.

Ichungwah asked Dr Karanja  whether in his studies he had specialized in Livestock sector since Kenya Kwanza manifesto gave priority to the development of the leather industry saying that in his Master’s Degree he specialised on cattle breeding and that he has worked in various counties starting off as an Extension Officer at the grassroot level.

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss asked Dr Karanja to tell the committee  what he will do to implement the biosafety act with 267 pesticides available in Kenya but not used in the countries of manufacture and are known to be causing cancer asking what assurance he will be giving Kenyans.

“GMO can be used to increase productivity but there are concerns over safety and that there is need to balance between safety and what is supposed to be done with guidelines on what I am required to do as as per biosafety act which I intend to implement fully if approved by parliament,” said Dr Karanja.

He told the committee that he will not hesitate to ban 267 pesticides not used in their countries of manufacture since there is no need for Kenyans to consume poison. He said that some GMOs are good for consumption and that citizens need to be careful where genetic engineering is used.

Dr Karanja said that there was need to develop local industry for fertilizer manufacturing since there is need to blend fertiliser being made and also do away with the cartels who have been thriving mostly through the importation of fertiliser where they exploit innocent members of the public.

Belgut MP Nelson Koech told the nominee that Sh 32 billion worth of tea was  unsold at the Mombasa auction and wondered what he will do to ensure efficiency .  Dr Karanja said that if confirmed he first assignment will be take a flight to Mombasa to resolve the crisis in the sector.

Pokot south MP David Pkosing asked him  what he will do to revive the Agriculture sector which is considered dead and what he will do to improve the value addition chain to motivate farmers bearing in mind that Agriculture is a devolved function.

“I must admit that despite Agriculture being the backbone of the economy in the country it was not doing well with the importation of crucial crops to the country. I will approach food security as one of the key areas by ensuring imports are delivered on time and they are of good quality,” said Dr Karanja.

The Nominee said that he will use all intergovernmental structures to engage the counties and have a summit with Agriculture committees of parliament and counties to ensure that the sector is back on its feet since it was wrong for the stakeholders to leave the sector deteriorating as they watch.

Nakuru Town East MP Andrew Gikaria asked him what he will do to end duplicity in various agriculture agencies in government with Dr Karanja saying that he will ensure proper coordination if approved to avoid duplication in the 36 parastatals in the sector.

Tharaka Nithi MP George Murugara asked Dr Karanja what policies he will put in place to have the youth identify agriculture as a crucial sector that can offer employment since at the moment most of them do not take it seriously in which he said he will ensure the youth are fully incorporated in ministry activities.

Kilifi North MP Owen Baya said the country is spending billions of shillings on edible oil asking the cabinet nominee to state the reforms he will be bringing in place to reduce the importation of edible oil of which Dr Karanja said that he will work with the various stakeholders to ensure that matter is well addressed.

Dr Karanja lamented that a sizable land for agriculture is being lost to real estate and said he  will engage the land stakeholders to ensure that land for farming is not reduced promising to have administrative policies to reclaim the Agricultural Development Corporation whose parcels of lands have been grabbed.

The nominee said that he will prioritise the projects that have stagnated like Galana Kulalu and that there was need for a candid evaluation of the project to ensure it is viability and that he will be engaging with stakeholders in the agriculture sector to review all the projects.

Wetangula asked the nominee about the failures of the Agriculture and Food Authority(AFA) with Dr Karanja being among those who formulated a policy on its establishment of which he said the way it was amalgamated and structured was the issue.

“The orginial idea on the establishment of the Agriculture and Food Authority was okay but how it was implemented was the problem arguing that it was more efficient to have one organization offering several services since this was the intention,” said Dr Karanja.

The Cabinet Secretary Nominee promised to create an avenue for dialogue between Miraa producing and Miraa consuming counties so as to ensure that all their concerns were addressed to ensure an amicable end to the conflict among them.