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{
    "id": 574023,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/574023/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 152,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Chepkong’a",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1154,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Kiprono Chepkonga",
        "slug": "samuel-kiprono-chepkonga"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. First and foremost, I want to take this opportunity to thank every Member who has contributed to this debate, which has been extremely robust, for their comprehensive understanding of the proposed law. Once this Bill is passed, it will greatly enhance the environment of doing business in this country. This Bill has been aligned with the UNCITRAL law, that is, the law that regulates commerce in the United States. So, this is a very modern legislation. It has come at such an opportune time when there has been a lot of interest in this country, particularly from business people from the western countries. This Bill is coming just immediately after the very exhilarating visit by the Kenyan-American President of the USA. He came with many congressmen and women together with business people who have shown great interest in Kenya. The passage of this legislation will greatly boost the interest that these prospective investors have in this country. It simplifies the process and system of registration of companies in this country such that you will now be able to register a company within a day instead of the current process which takes almost a month. Investors would like to register companies and quickly get into business because business opportunities do not wait. People need to make money. Once they put in their money, they need to recoup their investment. I would like to thank Members for their understanding of this Bill. I hope that when it comes for the Third Reading, we will pass it fairly quickly so that we can do away with the 1948 Companies Act which has already been done away with in the UK. It no longer exists there and yet Kenyans are still using it. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, while contributing to this Bill you mentioned that this Bill breaks new ground in terms of company law jurisprudence. As you just mentioned while sharing ideas with the Member for Butula, for the first time universities will have a serious law on companies. It is very comprehensive unlike the one that we are seeking to repeal, which left too many lacunae. We have had case law trying to fill all those gaps. We have now sealed all those gaps and made the law very comprehensive so that companies are able to do business without fear. In the Bill, it has been proposed that companies with a share capital of Kshs5 million and over will have company secretaries. We have had representation from the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAK) who feel that that is too high threshold. As a Committee, we agreed that it should be lowered. So, we will be moving an amendment to that effect. Very many companies in Kenya, in fact 80 per cent, have share capital which is less than Kshs5 million. Only 20 per cent of companies may be having a share capital of over Kshs5 million. That means most of those who are doing business as company secretaries and the ICPAK will be rendered jobless if we pass the Bill in its current format, in which it is insisted that only companies with at The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}