Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1200718,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1200718/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 121,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Baringo North, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Joseph Makilap",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Now turning to the President’s Speech, His Excellency President William Ruto is a product of God’s work. This is a man who was fought by all manner of things, including by the system, Government machinery and State capture but through prayers, none of them succeeded. It gives us freedom as a country that the son of a pauper from a village, like me, whose first mattress was the skin of a cow, can one day rise to become the President of Kenya. I also want to congratulate the Members who have been elected for the first time, just like myself, to be in this 13th Parliament. They are being referred to as ‘monos’. We may be ‘monos’ here, but mentally we are not ‘monos’ and we cannot be taken for a ride. We have the power to debate and propose legislation that can actually change the country into a positive trajectory. To our senior colleagues, I also want to congratulate you because you utilised the NG-CDF well and it brought you back here. Teach us how to come back the next time we face elections. On the President’s Speech, the Kenya Kwanza Government has a bigger mandate across the political divide in this country. In the last election, William Samoei Ruto got 25 per cent in 39 counties. The performance has progressively moved from 30 counties in 2013 and 34 counties in 2017 to 39 counties in this year’s election. That means he has a broader mandate and acceptance across Kenya. That is why immediately the results were announced and even during the Supreme Court judgment, Kenyans kept their cool and gave the country a breathing space to be able to transact business. On unity of purpose, we have one President. Any other person is subject to the President and must transact business in a manner that is acceptable to all Kenyans regardless of how they voted in the last election. Similarly, whether my constituents voted for me or not, I will serve them justly because it was a competition. Once we have a winner, we should treat all people the same way without discrimination. Even the nominees for Cabinet appointment are spread across Kenya. That brings unity in our country. On the matter of what is called Fuliza, access to credit by the people of Kenya is not enough. I want to congratulate the President for intervening, but it is not enough. I was doing research and realised that the base interest rate of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is 4.5 per cent. I am looking forward to a time when a borrower in Kenya will access loans at 3 per cent per annum so that they will be able to do business. For a long time in this country, Kenyans have been working for banks instead of banks working for Kenyans. I will be one of those Members of Parliament who will propose legislation to bring down interest rates charged on Kenyans who borrow money to do business. That is the only way we can make profits, have businesses that prosper and even reduce taxes. The biggest town in my constituency is called Kabarnet. Women go to Uganda to bring clothes. I wonder how people go to a landlocked country like Uganda to buy goods and services. Why? It is because there are too many taxes in our country. We should look at a situation where we reduce taxes, including Value Added Tax (VAT). If we were able to reduce VAT during the outbreak of COVID-19, why can we not reduce it now when the situation is normal? We should reduce VAT to 12 per cent so that Kenyans can do business. The hustler nation’s Government talks about spreading bottom taxes so that we have more productivity but we can also reduce VAT and PAYE. The other day when we were being served with payslips, I could see money being given by the right hand and taken by the left hand. As Members of this House, we must look at legislation to ensure taxes do not become punitive to the people of Kenya. We must reduce taxes to attract investors to bring money to our country so that we can do much more and develop as a country. I want to agree with His Excellency the President on the issue of agriculture and irrigation. Hon. Members, if we do not ensure food security in this country—if our stomachs are not sorted out—no matter what we do, nothing will develop in this country. Let us first of all sort out food security so that we have food on the table for people to work. We can even 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."
}