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{
    "id": 1337312,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1337312/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 239,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mukurweini, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon Kaguchia John",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Majority Party and the Government for sponsoring it so that issues of the insurance industry are addressed. It is clear, we have been unable to seal some gaps in this industry unlike in other sectors. Most of you will bear me witness, that if you go to sectors like the Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOS), because of the challenges we had in that space, we have established proper professional ethics. The Government has ensured people in that industry take responsibility whenever they fail to act in a certain way, this has ensured public resources are well safeguarded. It is high time the insurance industry smelt the coffee and realised it is not business as usual. Many people have come together to form insurance companies with the sole intention of defrauding Kenyans. Their days are numbered. This Bill is establishing an accountability system where if a manager, director or principal officer for one reason or another fails to act or acts in a way that causes loss to Kenyans, then they carry that burden as a person. Professional ethics must be practiced, not only in other sectors but also in the insurance sector. Our insurance industries must be alive to truthfulness. Insurance sales people more often than not exaggerate data, lie and give wrong interest rates on some of the investments you are likely to take. By the time you discover you have been duped, 10 years have already passed. Same to health insurance, whereby you take insurance and most often, you do not get the benefits promised at the point of taking the insurance. So, the issue of truthfulness is very important. These amendments must also be applied by re-insurers. Every insurance company must keep their money with a reinsurance company as backup. So, when the insurance company cannot meet claims awarded to claimants, then a reinsurance company ensures there is fairness to those claiming. Of course, we also have issues whenever a claim is placed and the client has been awarded some amount of money. Some lawyers or advocates representing these customers get the funds and fail to remit them to claimants. Probably, this is a bigger problem in this country than with the insurance companies. So, we must go after these rogue advocates who run away with the money belonging to claimants. We must ensure those who claim benefit from the fund. Of course, not only advocates are caught in this trap. Also, some Government agencies, Principal Secretaries and Government officers have failed to make good judgment of claims awarded by courts of law on certain cases for compensation. We must address these areas to bring back the confidence of the common people in the insurance industry and the financial sector as a whole. I am very encouraged that the Government is taking very serious steps to ensure confidence is restored. So, people can know that once you have taken an insurance policy or have legitimate expectation of compensation in a certain area you have invested your money, then when your time to benefit comes, you must benefit. This confidence will ensure the sector thrives, grows and expands. This is very important. So, I stand in support of this Bill because we are headed in the right direction. Hon. Millie Odhiambo pointed out that there seems a ‘blue spirit’ in the House. We also need to read the spirit of this kind of amendment and appreciate that there seems to be a Kenya Kwanza spirit in the House of trying to take care of the common mwananchi, trying to bring back confidence in our people. In such a way that they are going to have trust in the systems and structures that exist in this country. The manifestation of blue is good but I think the spirit of this kind of amendment really places the common mwananchi at a very high pedestal to benefit and to ensure that they are being placed at a good position where they will not be cheated again. Hon. Millie Odhiambo as you appreciate the spirit of blue, please also appreciate the spirit of Kenya Kwanza in addressing the common mwananchi’s problems where they have been duped for many years."
}