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{
"id": 1229248,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale",
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"id": 170,
"legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
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"content": "that this Bill was being driven by the then Sen. Johnson Sakaja, who is currently the Governor of Nairobi. I am sure that Hon. Sakaja was doing it because at that time, he was angry with the Governor for Nairobi who was not paying the business people of Nairobi on time. However, like Zacharia, now the shoe is on the other foot. We are going to pass this Bill and now Hon. Sakaja will have to pay our business people. I am not saying that he is reluctant, but I am laughing at the irony of law. You heard what the Senator for Siaya told us yesterday. When his father supported the Bill for detention without trial, little did the late Jaramogi know that he was going to be the first to be detained under that law and, indeed, he was. What is more? Far in the East, that was in Pakistan, we had General Muhammed Zia-ul-Haq who allowed legislation that provided for hanging. The Act was passed and people fought, but Muhammed Zia-ul-Haq could not listen. Nonetheless, he was hanged under that very Act. We should always be conscious of the fact that the best law, as Sen. Mungatana once said, although he likes to forget some of the good things he tells me - He once told me in the other Parliament that the best law is the one you can trust in the hands of your worst enemy. This is a very exciting Bill. For instance, Clauses 4 to 6 of this Bill propose processing for payments. It states that a procuring entity shall pay for the goods, works or services provided by the prescribed payment date. Failure to pay the amount due within the stipulated time, a procuring entity shall be liable to pay an interest circulated on the basis of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) base rates. This is not punitive. It is a soft way of encouraging a procuring entity to make sure that if you do not pay, as the person whose payment you are delaying loses his money, you also lose your good money. This is very exciting and innovative. Senator, this is good work. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in Clause 8, the Bill provides for offences. It provides that an accounting officer, who without reasonable cause or negligently fails to pay the amount due, commits an offence and shall be liable to pay a fine not exceeding Kshs1 million, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both fine and imprisonment. Colleagues, be aware of this clause. This clause is going to invite a fight behind the scenes. For many years, we have done legislation with Sen. Mungatana, MGH, you will find that you are doing well the way we are, but when you head to the Third Stage, you start getting invitations for breakfast meetings by people who fear Clause 8. They will tell you; let us have this breakfast and make amendments to this Bill by reducing the fine from Kshs1 million to whatever amount, or reduce the term, or just defeat the Bill. One of the Members of Parliament (MPs) who was once involved in this in the Ninth Parliament is long dead. Due to that respect, I will not mention his name. What happened is that after we had passed a beautiful law--- We were in the House in the afternoon about to move. In the days of paparazzi, do you remember paparazzi? That was when the media people would follow you with cameras quietly without you knowing. They filmed our"
}