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{
    "id": 1105653,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1105653/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 335,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kamukunji, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Yusuf Hassan",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 398,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Hassan Abdi",
        "slug": "yusuf-hassan-abdi"
    },
    "content": "any assistance under a very difficult social economic system. If you look at the economic downtime, the serious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, you would notice that in fact, even large numbers of people are moving from the middle classes into the lower levels of poverty. That is why we need to protect the social guarantees that exist as is provided by the Social Security Act. The other important element is that if there is need to improve the Social Security Act of 2013, what we need is to amend it and to provide and strengthen it through some of the positive elements that I see in this repeal Act of 2020. But it really does not need to be thrown away altogether. That is why we really need to reconsider, given our economic circumstances, given the large number of people who are in need of support. If you look at Nairobi, which is the capital city, you do not even have to look at our rural poor. We have large numbers of very poor people. Sixty per cent of our population in Nairobi live in informal settlements under conditions that would be considered to be below the minimum poverty standards of the United Nations. In those neighbourhoods, there is no affordable housing, and no guarantee of jobs. They do not enjoy any social services that are guaranteed in many countries of the world. Then we have a large number of elderly disabled people who are left on their own. In some rural areas, maybe there is a support system because of the family structures that exist, but in cities like Nairobi, Nakuru and Mombasa, many of the elderly, disabled and orphans are left on their own. They fit into the description that Kenya was given many years ago, that Kenya was more of a man-eat-man society where these people are left out. What the Social Security Act, 2013 did was to provide for support and protection of some sections of this particular desperate population. We now turn around to repeal the Act. We are taking the functions of the Act to a ministry instead of an independent Authority. This is definitely going to undermine the intentions of the original Act and the Constitution. I would like to suggest that we look at some of the loopholes that exist in the Social Security Act and maybe, carry out amendments to improve it. I completely oppose the idea of repealing the entire Act. It is not the right thing to do. Doing away with the Authority and moving its functions to a ministry is not the right thing to do. Kenyans will be better served if the Act is implemented as it is at the moment to have the Fund operate under an Authority as opposed to a ministry. With those remarks, I oppose the Social Assistance (Repeal) Bill."
}