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{
    "id": 10622,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/10622/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 435,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Transport",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think it is important for Members to appreciate that when a private Member brings a Motion he or she is given two hours. Let us ensure that all Members can contribute within those two hours so that a final decision is made based on the contributions done on the Floor of the House. That is why we prioritize it. It is important that we appreciate the fact that what is happening to our currency is not unique to Kenya. You need to look at what is happening to the Kenya Shilling versus the Uganda Shilling and the Kenya Shilling versus the South African Rand, the Kenya Shilling versus the Tanzanian Shilling and then you will appreciate that the Kenya Shilling and Tanzanian Shilling have moved the same way. What is happening is that all our African currencies are depreciating against the dollar. The European currencies are depreciating against the dollar because of factors that are outside. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the important thing is to appreciate that if this Committee was just required for Members to appreciate the complexities of the exchange rate mechanisms, to appreciate what happens in terms of determining the prices of currencies, to appreciate how inflation is managed and the factors that affect inflation, then I would be saying, let us have this Committee. Indeed, we need to take the entire House through a whole session on what is happening in terms of our currencies, inflation and exchange rate because there are some actions we take in this House that actually fuel inflation. Members will remember that one of them is that we are constantly agitating for higher wages. We are constantly approving actions by unions like we recently did with the teachers. The impact of that is obviously that with higher wages, we end up with more money available and it pushes inflation in technical terms. So long as we have more money chasing too few goods we are going to have inflation. As I am talking now, there is an issue about university lecturers. They are agitating for more money. This money must come from somewhere. We are not producing and Mr. Mungatana brought it out very well. We are exporting so little compared with the imports. So long as we continue in that situation where we import too much and demand too much, inflation will go up. As leaders these are some of the things that we need to look at. We need to look at them and ask what our responsibility is here. That responsibility will not necessarily come through select committees. I hope and I said that if the select committee is for purposes of Members educating themselves in terms of all these issues; to build on the work that has been done by the Ababu Namwamba Committee in terms of cost of living, then one can say it is a welcome idea. However, they must remember that there is no one-size-fits-all in this process."
}