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{
    "id": 1445947,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1445947/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 81,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wamatinga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13582,
        "legal_name": "Wahome Wamatinga",
        "slug": "wahome-wamatinga"
    },
    "content": "have in this country, where for you to access credit facilities, you need collateral in form of movable or immovable assets. We know that the issue of land in Kenya remains as emotive as it was 60 years ago. We know that grandparents and parents who own those pieces of land may not be willing to give title deeds to their children to secure collateral loans that they need. Therefore, as we push for equal opportunities and ensure this is implemented, we must still look at the requirements, so that even younger generations can access those opportunities without referring them to performance boards and giving bank guarantees, which they cannot access because they do not even have bank accounts. The demonstrations that have been going on, mainly triggered by the Finance Bill, have shown us that the problem we have in this country is greater than the Finance Bill. We know some people have not shied away from using a tribalistic approach to settle political scores. Some people, most of them being politicians, have used that opportunity to push their own agenda. Learning from countries like Rwanda, we must move away from tribalistic and regional approach of looking at things. We should know that if this country goes down, it will affect every one of us. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have freedom of media and access to information. In many countries, before you get to report about something, you should establish if it is necessary or true. Even if it is true, what is the source of that information? Some media houses in this country have not shied away from airing information they know is not founded. I want to quote the words of George Bush when Americans were hit by terrorists. He told the Cable Network News (CNN) that if America goes down, CNN will go down with it. I would like to tell media houses this. If Kenya goes down, even the media houses will go down with it. It is, therefore, imperative that we become nationalistic and patriotic enough, knowing that we do not have a spare country. Every one of us here, especially the political class, went to the Bunge Tower when Parliament was invaded. We were all shaken and scared. At that particular moment, we all feared for our lives. Moving forward, it is important that when we talk about issues of national interest. We should ask ourselves where we are going to leave this country. I also thank the President for having refused to sign the Finance Bill, but most importantly, requiring that we should ask ourselves where the rain started beating us. Because of some of the things that we have done, including over-borrowing and overcommitting the country, we know that the balance sheet of this country cannot accommodate any more loans. Therefore, it is imperative that we ask ourselves what we must do to ensure that this country moves closer to having a balanced budget. I know that most of us, especially the political class, will not shy away from saying what is populist without minding whether it is true or not. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I support the Motion, I urge every one that before we make any utterance, we must ask ourselves if something is true, how it is going to help us and where it is going to leave us, as a country. Some countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a tendency of not reporting negative news. They promote peace and happiness. Most importantly, they are responsible citizens because they know that 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."
}