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{
    "id": 1400476,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1400476/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 164,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "be entering that territory where we want to tax farmers such as our tea farmers and the people who own freehold land. However, I am happy that this Bill has a clause that specifically excludes any rating from farmers who have freehold land. That is commendable of the Senate Majority Leader. Madam Temporary Speaker, we do not want to overburden mkulima . The farmer is already suffering and the returns from agricultural produce are not competitive. This is a good statement of comfort to our farmers, that the people we are targeting are the ones engaged in businesses. These are people who are making some income and benefiting from services being offered by counties, but who should in return pay these rates, so that they can be used to improve the services that they get from our counties. On the tribunal, I have no problem with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) recruiting the members, but I am worried that the number we have put at 18 is quite big. I have never seen a tribunal that has a membership of 18. We should consider reducing the number of members of this tribunal and ask some key professional bodies such the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) to send nominees. They can be given slots where they pick their representatives to sit in that tribunal. Madam Temporary Speaker, as I gear towards conclusion, I do not know whether there is wisdom in having Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) as a collecting agency for our counties. Just two years ago, hon. Gladys Wanga took the mantle of leadership in Homa Bay County. The County was collecting less than Kshs300,000 in revenue, but in this Financial Year, the Governor has demonstrated that with good leadership, own-source revenue can grow and make a huge meaning in the economy of the County. As we speak today, their collection is over Kshs700 million and that is just within two years. You can see what leadership means to our people. In Nyamira, we are still collecting the same money we used to collect five years before we lost our inaugural Governor, the late hon. Nyangarama. This tells us that the T-junction that Sen. Cheruiyot and Sen. Mungatana spoke about works well in Nyamira. It means that almost 60 per cent of the rates we collect from those poor business people, poor mama mbogas and poor boda bodas goes to the pockets of some leaders from Nyamira County. Those are the people are busy putting up massive buildings in the City of Nairobi and not even in our County. You will not trace them to any businesses; they are not professionals in any field, but their profession is to steal from poor Kenyans. The appeal I make this afternoon is that it pains me when I see our Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) not appreciating that they should not be the ones encouraging our governors to steal from the poor people that we represent. How I pray that we can find a way that can make the Ethics and the Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC) to wake up and do something that will deter future governors from stealing. Madam Temporary Speaker, criminal law is about deterrence. Unless you take action, unless people go to court, are tried and jailed, those criminal acts will continue The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}