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{
    "id": 1479219,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1479219/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 370,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support the nomination and appointment of David Kemei to the position of the Director- General of the Competition Authority of Kenya. As I support his nomination, from his vast experience, he is a good professional who can deliver the mandate having been vetted by the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning. I must take this opportunity to tell David that he is taking office in a very crucial authority in our country. The Competition Authority has been moribund since its formation. I hope and pray that David Kemei will give that Authority teeth to bite. We are in a country where corporations like Safaricom want to operate like a monopoly. They do not desire to have competition from anybody. The other day, I was shocked by a debate online and across the country about a letter by Safaricom to the Communications Authority of Kenya on the rollout of Starlink Satellite Technology in Kenya. As much as Safaricom may have a point regarding the national security issues and traceability and use of gadgets, corporations like Safaricom and others take advantage of their dominance in the market to kill competition in the country. In any economy without competition, people will be taken advantage of. If we look at the case of Starlink, Kenyans today are paying an average of Ksh1,300 per month for data that is very fast and easy to access from any corner of the country, irrespective of whether there is a base station or not. Why would anybody want to derail Kenyans from accessing such technology simply because they have invested in base stations over the years? If they have been slow in advancing their technology with changing times in the world, it is not Kenyan’s problem. This is where the Competition Authority must step in to ensure that no corporation or individual in this country denies Kenyans the right of choice because that is what competition is all about. Competition is about the right to choose. Kenyans must be able to choose whether they want power connected to their homes by Kenya Power Lighting Company (KPLC) or by another competitor who can distribute power from the national grid. It cannot be that for the last 60 years; we have depended on KPLC. 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."
}