Africa-Press – Kenya. The National Assembly Majority Leader Amos Kimunya on Friday, June 11, withdrew the Livestock Bill 2021 following a request by the executive.
In a statement, Kimunya noted that the withdrawal will allow for more discussions between the government and other stakeholders.
He added that the government was thinking of what amendments would be made to make the bill workable.
“The bill has temporarily been suspended until we have more consultations within the government because the issues we are raising are some of the issues people have raised from elsewhere,” Kimunya stated.
The bill was to be introduced for its first reading on Tuesday afternoon.
However, it was removed from the agenda of the day after national assembly speaker Justin Muturi indicated that further consultations were required.
“I have seen a lot of comments about beekeeping, I think that is one of the issues that have raised a lot of concerns. Let the originators of the bill consult further,” he stated.
A law in the livestock bill had proposed that any person who intends to keep bees required to obtain a license.
Further, the bill stated that no person would be allowed to keep bees for commercial purposes except in an apiary registered under the new Act.
“A person shall not own or possess bees or beekeeping equipment for commercial purposes unless the person is registered under the Act or allow bees to be kept on land owned or occupied by the person unless the land is registered under the act as the location of an apiary,” reads the bill.
The bill caused an uproar among a section of Kenyans on social media platforms.
“I am a bee farmer and this proposed livestock bill of 2021 is ridiculous on so many levels!! Has all the hallmarks of the same rules used to outlaw the hawking of unprocessed milk,” KTN anchor Ben Kitili stated.
