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{
    "id": 1415123,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1415123/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 415,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Irene Mayaka",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c), I rise to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning regarding various aspects of financial services being offered by telecommunication companies in Kenya. Telecommunication companies such as Safaricom PLC, Airtel, Telecom among others provide a wide range of services and solutions, primarily mobile, voice, messaging, data, financial and digital services that enable commercial and personal platforms. However, these companies through various digital applications such as M-Pesa, digital loan products, Fuliza, Airtel Money, Airtel Wallet, T-Kash among others have been offering loans using money believed to belong to non-borrowing digital application users, thus engaging in financial business without having been licensed as banks or financial institutions. Further, telecommunication companies do not adequately address the SIM swap fraud, which has seen customers lose millions of shillings through scams and fraud targeting their mobile money services. Their customers have been victims of scammers who have been accessing their bank accounts using the victim's identification details. Hon. Temporary Speaker, it is against this background that I seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning on the following matters — 1. Could the Committee undertake an inquiry into how telecommunication companies, through digital applications such as M-Pesa, digital loan products, Fuliza, M-Shwari and Airtel Wallet have been offering loans using money believed to belong to non-borrowing digital application users, thus engaging in financial business without having been licensed as banks or financial institutions? 2. State the measures that the ministry has put in place to ensure that the interest charged on loans and other credit facilities advanced to customers by telecommunication companies adhere to the law on interest capping? 3. What regulatory framework has the Government put in place to ensure that all the financial transactions, including loans and promotions transacted through all telecommunication companies are secured from cyber criminals? 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"
}