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{
    "id": 1055637,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1055637/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 195,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Makali Mulu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": "The other matter is that of the money-lending platforms. Despite what the Chair is saying, the truth of the matter is that there is this animal called fuliza . This is a big animal in this country. Many times, I get a call from my constituents asking me to send money for burial when somebody has passed on. When I ask where I should send the money, I am told: “I will give you another number because mine has fuliza .” What they are saying are issues of accountability. As a Member of Parliament, I want to send money to the bereaved family, but I am told I will be given another number which I do not know the owner, who might also have fuliza . This matter of fuliza and all the other money-lending platforms must be looked into. They are very many. I must confess I get a number of messages through SMS being told to join those platforms and I resist because those platforms are not controlled by anybody. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) controls banks and they are regulated. They are able to know what you can do and what you cannot do as a bank. The money-lending platforms are not regulated and to me, even as the Chair says we need free market operations, it is important that this area is regulated because our people are suffering all over the country. Our people are borrowing money thinking it is small money, but the interest being charged is one that you cannot imagine. If you listen to FM stations, even though we have controlled gaming and betting, you realise that almost all the FM stations are spending two hours in a day asking Kenyans to send Kshs100 to a number, so that at the end of the day, they are given Kshs20,000 or Kshs40,000. As a person who has done a lot of statistics, I can tell you this is really conning Kenyans through those kinds of things. The Chair of the Committee must assist Kenyans by having these money-lending platforms regulated. If you do that, Kenyans will be happy and our people will be saved from many problems. The last point is the issue of the calls. When you call and as you continue talking, there is interruption, either you get disconnected or something happens and you have to call again. Hon. Elisha is proposing that any time that happens to you during the time you are calling, the service provider must compensate you airtime worth Kshs10 up to a maximum of three times a day. To me, these are issues of efficiency. The service providers must assure Kenyans that the service they are providing meets international standards. Even though we are saying there is a bit of law which takes care of that, I think what the Chairman is saying is that there might be laxity in terms of enforcement. I think it is good that Hon. Elisha has brought this up so that we tighten the whole issue of enforcement and the matter is enforced, and as a result we improve the services which Kenyans are getting from the service providers. As I conclude, the Chair has commented on the issue of market share. He has said that a company that had 14 per cent now has 35 per cent. To me, it is really the Competition Authority of Kenya which needs to reign in on this particular area to make sure that there is fair competition and where dirty tricks are being played on any of the service providers, that is unearthed immediately and Kenyans know what is happening. Then we will not take advantage, but the issue of dominant player must be addressed. I am happy to hear that other service providers are coming up and competition is becoming stiff. That is healthier for the country. I encourage those other service providers who have not taken a bigger share of the market to also pull up their socks because if you want to take a share of the market, you must also provide services to Kenyans which are better than the other providers. So, the CAK really needs to come in and ensure that the playing ground is levelled, and nobody has a disadvantage in terms of playing in this market. With those remarks, I support these amendments. As the Chair has said, we will be discussing them during the Third Reading and see how we can make this area more effective in terms of service provision. 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."
}