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{
    "id": 1030323,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1030323/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 17,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "assets, we will make sure that for 10 years, we will not have a problem with KR pensioners. Having said that, we have agreed with RBA that the 70-30 liquidity of the scheme in terms of assets and liquid cash is adhered to so as to ensure the health of the scheme. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the first prayer sought was to compel RBA to implement item 67 of the High Court ruling of 2012 on the issue of disagreement within the scheme having a negative impact on the livelihoods of the pensioners. It was incumbent on RBA to address the concerns of the petitioners in the spirit of the Constitution and their wider interests. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have ensured and observed that there is continuous engagement with RBA to ensure information flow. We have recommended that RBA continues to facilitate and report to the Committee on a monthly basis. After we finish the report on this Petition, RBA is reporting the progress to us on a monthly basis in line with Section 5 of the Retirement Benefits Authority Act. It is not just the KR scheme; there are many other big schemes. We are next looking at Posta scheme for the retirees which has had a lot of issues. There are various big Government schemes with issues. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the second prayer is that we intervene and help the vulnerable petitioners who have not received their pensions for the last 12 months. As I have said, through the Committee’s efforts, at least, six months pension has been paid. As of last week, one more month pension was paid. We are waiting for an agreement within the next two weeks to ensure that the entire five months arrears are done. We are also securing six years going forward, within the next one month. That is a success for the Senate. I thank Members of the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, as well as all the stakeholders who have come to us for being cooperative. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I encourage the petitioners that this report is not the end. We have agreed on frequent meetings. We will ensure that all arrears are paid, the increments are looked at and that the pensioners receive timely monthly payments. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this scheme has an outflow of about Kshs70 million a month but the only income they generate is Kshs40 million. So, no matter how you look at it, there will always be that shortfall. The Kshs5 billion deposits on the KR’s land secures six years. The land is at Lunar Park, where we go for funeral meetings for our people who like the place. They have other properties in Valley Arcade and Matumbato Rd in Upper Hill that are still in the process of being sold. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in our meeting yesterday, we agreed on the issue of an escrow facility from Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) of Kshs325 million that will sort out the next two months. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are concerned with the sustainability of the scheme. RBA is coming back to our Committee with a plan on how to make sure that on top of debt recovery and sale of the assets, the recommended ratio for such a scheme is maintained. We are looking at the governance issues. We have asked for investment policy and action plan to be given to us within 14 days. 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."
}