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{
    "id": 1444124,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1444124/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 235,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Chimera",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The good of the people can be the greatest law that any parliament in this world would aspire to. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will briefly speak to a few issues as captured in the Bill by Sen. Okenyuri. Many colleagues have spoken and many more would wish to speak to this Bill. As such, I will be fairly brief in my contribution. Clause 11 of the Bill provides for designation of vending locations. We have many street vendors who just vend for the sake of it. They are not organised or properly arranged. This Bill seeks to cure that by designating areas and allowing county governments, through relevant Ministry and Departments, to go an extra mile by constructing areas where our street vendors can comfortably carry out their businesses. This Bill is transformative. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me speak on Clause 17(c) on the issue of prescribed fees. The Bill in itself seeks to give many of our county governments a chance to collect more revenue. In my honest opinion, even as we seek to regulate and license the same, street vendors will be paying what the Bill has called “prescribed fees.” I appeal to the people in the county governments in charge of financial affairs and those who come up with policies and regulations on levying taxes and licensing fees, to be reasonable enough to the young men and women of this country who form the bulk of street traders. We should not use this particular law to trample upon their economic rights. I appeal to our county governments, especially our governors, if this Bill becomes law and it comes to you for implementation, let us have reasonable fees levied on our street vendors, so that that young man who sells groundnuts at Kona ya Musa in Diani in Kwale County can afford to pay the requisite fees, so that he gets his license in a more dignified manner to engage in his business. Kwale County is fairly unique in terms of this Bill. We have a whole section called Diani Beach Road, where there are traders trading in various artifacts and tourism- related products. I am not casting aspersions to my county government, but I know we have not come up with a proper, organised and planned manner to allow our small-scale traders to do their business without having issues with the relevant county askaris and all that. I also want to appeal to our county enforcement officers. It is common knowledge that every time street vendors go to the streets, they are arrested and harassed and whatever items they vend are confiscated unlawfully. That is an act that speaks to their daily living. I believe that this Bill will cure that mischief. It will allow our county"
}