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{
    "id": 120846,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/120846/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 435,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Wamalwa",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 148,
        "legal_name": "Eugene Ludovic Wamalwa",
        "slug": "eugene-wamalwa"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, every time we touch on the issue of access of benefits, the Government is very jittery, I do not understand why. Recently, when we brought a Motion here to amend the Retirement Benefits Act, (No.3 of 1997), we had the same resistance from the Government. As I rise to second this Bill, I want the Government to be more sensitive to Kenyans. They should listen to Kenyans who are suffering out there. There are many Kenyans who have left employment before the retirement age. There are Kenyans who have been retrenched and they are suffering out there because the law says until or unless you reach the retirement age, you cannot access your benefits. This law is oppressive, it is callous to young Kenyans who have lost jobs and have had to wait for many years to access their benefits. Indeed, recently when we were in Geneva for the International Labour Organization (ILO), we looked at the global financial crisis and job loss. We found that across the world, 50,000 million people lost jobs. In Kenya, the leader of our delegation; the Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs, submitted that in Kenya alone, 50,000 Kenyans had lost jobs. When you look at this, most of them lost their jobs before the retirement age. They are not able to access their money until they reach the magical age. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I gave an example of my friend, one James Gone; a young man who lost his job before he reached 40 years. Therefore, he had to wait for 15 years. The Government then revised the retirement age upwards to 60 years. Therefore, if he was waiting patiently until this time that he reaches 55 years, he has to wait for another five years. This gentleman had a house. He lost his job and was unable to pay for it. He was told by his employer he had to lose the house because he could not pay for it. When you look at what he was denied access to, it was enough to clear the balance and save his house. James Gone lost his house. There are many civil servants who have lost their jobs. We are saying that Section 10 of this Act that defers payment of pension until one attains the retirement age is oppressive. It should be amended so that one can access his benefits at any time that they leave employment."
}