Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1121767,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1121767/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 183,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kimilili, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Didmus Barasa",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1885,
        "legal_name": "Didmus Wekesa Barasa Mutua",
        "slug": "didmus-wekesa-barasa-mutua"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I beg to move that the Pensions (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.26 of 2020) be read a Second Time. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the main objective of this Bill is to ensure that retirees get their pensions in time and failure by the pension schemes to remit their funds in time constitutes a criminal offence. Pensioners should get their pensions within a period of not less than 90 days so that they can carry on with their businesses. Thousands of Kenyans have suffered in the hands of pensions schemes. They have travelled every day to pension schemes’ offices seeking to be paid their pensions but to no avail. These delays have resulted in mushrooming of cartels operating within the corridors of pension scheme offices fleecing pensioners of the little savings they have put in retirement schemes. When someone contributes some money into a pension scheme, the contribution is his or her savings. Denying that person an opportunity to get that money is not only criminal but is also inhuman. This Bill seeks to cure that problem and ensure that there are no more delays. We have certain professionals who are not allowed to engage in private business when they are actively employed, especially by Government. Their hope is that after retirement they will become consultants and run their private entities, of course, majorly funded by their pension lump sum. Withholding such payments is denying many Kenyans opportunity to be employed. Once you allow someone to set up a private business, he should be able to employ one or two Kenyans to assist him in running such business. Therefore, this Bill seeks to ensure that Kenyans who want to establish and run business empires after retirement and offer employment opportunities to thousands of Kenyans will have the opportunity to do so. This is because they will be able to access their lump sum pension payment when they are still energetic. We all know that 90 per cent of pensioners have chased their lump sum payment without success. Some have even died before they were paid their money. Some have plunged into depression because they could not get their money. This Bill seeks to remedy the problem of delays so far experienced by pensioners as they pursue their pension. 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."
}