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{
    "id": 1159465,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1159465/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 152,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tharaka, DP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. George Gitonga",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13491,
        "legal_name": "George Gitonga Murugara",
        "slug": "george-gitonga-murugara"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this very important Bill by Hon. Washiali, the Chief Whip emeritus, and still remains our Chief Whip in the Kenya Kwanza establishment in the country. It is a timely Bill that seeks to bring insurance professionals under one roof. This is the roof that is going to ensure that these professionals, like most in the country, are well regulated and render their services professionally. There has been hue and cry that the insurance industry in the country is haphazard. They have been comparing it with that of engineers and quantity surveyors who are under their boards. The Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors (BORAQS) is properly regulated. The lawyers in the country under the Law Society of Kenya are professionally managed. We have the Institute of Human Resource Management and the Kenya Institute of Supply Management (KISM) and many others. These are all professionals in the country who have left behind the insurers to do their business in a manner that is not regulated. I have gone over this Bill and I am satisfied that it qualifies to be passed by this House. I urge Members that we all support Hon. Washiali, so that we can pass the Bill and give the insurance industry their own law just like the other professionals. When you look at Part IV of the Bill, we are registering professionals. This is exactly what happens to all professional institutions. Advocates, and I am one, go through the Council for Legal Education, after which they are called to the Bar, are registered as Advocates of the High Court of Kenya by the High Court. The High Court has a mandate to do this under the law; the Advocates Act and the Council for Legal Education Act. In this particular instance, we are bringing forth an Act of Parliament that would regulate registration of insurance professionals through the committee being set up. Part V is quite important in that it provides for professional examinations. The insurance professionals are trained in universities, examined and then get their degrees. Unfortunately, this is not sufficient. If it were the advocates, it would be right from university. However, they still have to undergo professional training through the Council of Legal Education. Let us have insurance professionals also having their own professional training so that they can specialise and qualify in those particular areas that are suitable for the insurance industry. The examiners will also deal with continued professional education which is a very important aspect. It is not too late to learn and it is important to put new impetus of learning into every professional from time to time. The institutions I have named here, the BORAQS, the Law Society of Kenya, the Human Resource Institute Management, the Kenya Institute of Suppliers Management (KISM) and the others have a system of continued professional education so that the professionals are trained from time to time. With the other provision for practice certificates, and this is how professions are controlled, if you want to get that practice certificate, you have to demonstrate to your professional body that you qualify to practice in that area. Other professionals have these bodies. In the insurance industry, we have characters who practice insurance called ambulance chasers. I do not know what element of profession it is, but they are notorious unqualified brokers. They are people who just 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."
}