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{
    "id": 1446299,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1446299/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 196,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "Having said that about the board, the second issue is mitigating costs on licenses. Some of these boda boda riders come from very poor families. I have helped a few to register and get a riding license because they come from very disadvantaged families. These are people from our counties. We know them and their families. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I suggest that we push this burden to the Government. I am privileged to have you on the Chair because you have been a former Member of Parliament (MP). There was a time when the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) used to have a budget for assisting boda bodas to get their licenses. Let the Government take that burden Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, every day a boda boda rides into a petrol station and fuels one litre, the Government takes Kshs82 as tax. So why should the Government not also set aside a fund to train and pay for their licenses? That can be done through the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). We should also appreciate the contribution that these boda boda riders make to the economy other than locking so many of them from the industry because they are not able to get these licenses. Remember, if you put so many offences, you are creating an avenue of corruption through the police. If you engage these guys, some of them call us. When they are riding without helmet, they get arrested and the fine is Kshs5,000. A policeman will tell you toa mia tano . Why can we not make it easy if we want to eliminate corruption? Make the fine affordable. Charge this guy Kshs500 so that, that money goes to the Government as a fine. When you make it so high, the policeman will take the easier option. Give me Kshs500 because the fine is Kshs5,000. On the failure to display an insurance sticker, the penalty is Kshs10,000. Tell me, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, which boda boda will walk into a court of law and pay a fine of Kshs10,000. So, they will opt to give a bribe to the policeman. Let us make the penalties reasonable. If you are found drunk and riding a motorcycle, they will fine you Kshs60,000. They cannot afford it. So, I will propose that we ride on this Bill and create affordable fines. Let us also appreciate that the highest you can make as an owner of a motorcycle is between Kshs500 to Kshs1,000 a day. So, let us also have fairly reasonable fines. Thirdly, I have seen a lot of reforms in how we conduct elections. This idea of saying you come up with elections and you throw it to any Tom, Dick and Harry to conduct elections for boda bodas is not working. I will be persuading the Mover that I bring in an amendment to have the elections of the boda boda industry conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Two weeks ago, you know that the tea elections of directors were conducted by IEBC. I am moving a Motion here to also ask that elections for trade unions be supervised by IEBC. We should have people who have direct mandates from people in that sector. You allow other people out there who are not accountable to conduct elections, you get manipulation, people will also come in to interfere and you get leaders who maybe do not have the confidence of the membership. Let us use this opportunity to put in place a credible process for carrying out elections so that there can now be proper self-regulation. In the LSK, Sen. Mungatana will The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only.A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services,Senate."
}