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{
    "id": 1082051,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1082051/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 192,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dagoretti South, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Kiarie",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13322,
        "legal_name": "John Kiarie Waweru",
        "slug": "john-kiarie-waweru"
    },
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I would like to first thank the Committee, under the leadership of Mheshimiwa and the Members, for the quick response. The reason why I sought this Statement is because the intent of the Kshs100 million stimulus package was to shield and cushion artistes during the pandemic period. As we all realise, the pandemic, lockdowns and curfews are still here with us. That means that the people who were working in the hospitality industry, the entertainment industry, visual or performing artistes are still out there in the cold not working. For the Ministry to respond and tell us that the intended purpose has been achieved is to not be very generous with the truth. I received a very voluminous response and I am still combing through the documents, up to and including a number of artistes who are said to have been paid. More importantly, during this exercise of the disbursement of the Kshs100 million, there are many questions that still remain unanswered. First, how do we identify an artiste in this country? What qualifies one to be an artiste? Secondly, does such a database exist? If such a database existed, we would have gone back to the Ministry and said that out of all these people, the beneficiaries were the ones that you have listed. Finally, and most importantly, so that it does not find itself in a similar situation, the Ministry will need to do the hard work. The hard work includes putting up an intellectual properties policy. We can make laws here like we did with the amendment of the Copyright Act, however, the laws should follow policy. We are putting the cart before the horse. Until we have an intellectual properties policy, we shall still be grappling in the dark on matters to do with performers. 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."
}