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    "id": 1016853,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1016853/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 457,
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    "content": "and licenses--- The fact that if you come to this country and do honest and clean business, you will also be paid in a timely manner. Delays in payments do more than just affect the issue of loans; they stop the growth of businesses. This is because until you are paid by that entity, you cannot do any other business, yet you would have had a faster turn around and a higher turnover if you were paid promptly. I thank the Committee on Finance and Budget, led by Sen. Kibiru, who followed Standing Order 140 (5) and facilitated public participation. I thank all of those who came and attended before the Committee. I thank my Co-sponsor, because she was there promptly, just like The Prompt Payment Bill. As a result of that, we were able to provide serious amendments that will really improve this Bill. I would like to ask Senators to support and fast-track this Bill. Yesterday, I posted on Twitter about the startup Bill and somebody asked me: “What happened to your Bill on reducing the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) rates, the Higher Education Loans Board rates and all the requirements?” I said: “First of all, it was not a Bill, but a Motion arising from a Statement by Sen. (Dr.) Mwaura. Just because of our intervention, HELB has responded and the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) has stopped charging people who are going for the first time. There are things that we do in this House that actually have an immediate impact. I am grateful that you brought that to my Committee and we got it done. Somebody else asked: “Sen. Sakaja, we do not hear about the National Employment Authority.” Most members of the public might not be aware that once we legislate, another arm of Government executes. What we do is oversight. I would love to urge the Executive to take legislation seriously. If the 30 per cent Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) for which we have even set up a secretariat worked, we would transform this economy. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, imagine 30 per cent of Government procurement. If you look at the budget and assume that 60 or 70 per cent is recurrent, because I know that the budget for many counties and the national Government is recurrent and there is little for development. Even in recurrent expenditure, there are procurable items. If Kshs300 billion plus is circulating among young people, women and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in a year, who are then further guaranteed by this prompt payment legislation and are getting paid on time, this country will be transformed. It is not for the Chinese, Americans or huge corporations like General Electric (GE) Technologies Ltd. to transform this country. We do not need consultancy from McKinsey. We just need to put money in the pockets of our young people, women and PWDs. We need to put money in the pockets of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, study the Industrial Revolution and look at what happened in Italy and the United Kingdom (UK), years and years ago, what later went to the United States of America and happened in China only 40 years ago. Many people do not know that only 40 years ago, China was nowhere near being an economic superpower. In fact, it was just an agrarian economy that was struggling with a lot of poverty. What transformed those countries was getting ordinary people to produce things. Whatever they were producing was going into the market, and what was going into the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}