Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Boss Shollei on Tuesday revealed that she filed a petition summoning the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary to Parliament to explain why 267 cancer-causing fertilisers are still on sale in Kenya.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, the lawmaker further noted that she sought for the firing of the Pest Products Control Board members for failing to safeguard Kenyans’ health.
She based her argument on the findings of 20 scientists from the University of Nairobi who confirmed the existence of harmful products in the Kenyan market.
“There has been a document called the Pesticide Atlas that was developed by 20 scientists from the University of Nairobi. It has been confirmed that 267 pesticides that are banned in America and Europe are in Kenya,” she stated.
“I have written a petition to the Minister of Agriculture requesting for the removal of Pest Products Control Board Members from Office because they have failed and endangered Kenyans’ lives.”
Shollei further revealed that one of the products identified as Roundup, which was banned in Kenya, was rebranded and is still on sale in Kenya.
Earlier, the lawmaker indicated that when she put up a fight against the multinationals to take the harmful products off the market, she received death threats.
“The issue here is that the people who are being fought, the agrochemical companies are extremely powerful,” she added.
During the time when I was rallying the country against these products, I was threatened with death. So it is big money and if we don’t act as Parliament , we continue to kill people because it is confirmed that they cause cancer and other non-communicable diseases.”
She further argued that in the countries where the fertilisers are manufactured, it is illegal for the companies to sell them there.
For instance, a farmer who used Roundup fertilizer in the US and contracted cancer was awarded USD 250 million against the manufacturer.
“The resolution on my petition by the Health Committee said that the Pest Products Control Board should take measures to remove the products from the market. They have failed to do so,” she added.
In April, the government revoked the trading license of KEL Chemicals after the company was accused of selling substandard fertilisers to farmers.
The revocation followed a detailed inspection by the then Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi, who visited the company’s production facilities. Some farmers complained that the fertliser stunted their plants...CONTINUE READING>>
