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{
    "id": 1499696,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1499696/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 153,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have no beef with people coming together to help one individual improve their status of living. I grew up in a society where we encouraged the harambee movement. However, I believe that the pace we are now taking in regulating fundraisings is completely ill-advised. I say so, because I have taken some time to read through the Public Fundraising Appeals Bill (Senate Bills No.36 of 2024). I do not support the proposals made in this Bill. We are a country that should be working hard to ensure that every citizen has access to free health care. We should be working so hard to ensure that every young child born from the bundus of Narok or Turkana are able to get access to quality and free education as well as health care. Regulating this kind of fundraising is making sure that we are condemning this generation into poverty. I completely detest that approach. I have listened to the Majority Whip talking about how he could not have finished school without harambee . That is very true to all of us. However, are we going to stagnate and stay there for the rest of our generation or are we going to do things differently? Earlier on in the morning session, the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development made a statement that Narok County, with six sub- counties, will be entitled to a minimum of 220 houses per sub-county. That makes it about 1,320 houses for Narok County. When I stood to enquire further on that, she said that it is just the beginning. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I invite my colleagues to discuss how we will make sure that the State take responsibility of those who have not been given an opportunity to get where we are. When you require us to profile individuals carrying out fundraising activities, I then conclude that we are contented with being poor and widening the gap between the rich and the poor. You cannot say that you will maintain an annual register of persons licensed by it to conduct a public fundraising appeal under this Act. You go further to say that you will have a Cabinet Secretary who will authorize. You even go further to say that in each county, you will have a CECM who keep a register. We are completely losing our trajectory in terms of development in this country. If the Sponsor of this Bill was telling us to regulate charitable organisations so that they can spell out their mission and goals, we would regulate them and allow them to carry out fundraising. In America, where I spent almost 20 years of my life, we had non- profit and charitable organisations. Are we saying we want to profile and keep a list of individuals? I wish we were talking about keeping a list of charitable organisations. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we need to change and find out when the rains started beating us to a point where we are paying for primary school education when we had made progress during the period when the late President, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki came into power. Children would easily go to school for free. If you ask any of these Members seated here to show you their phones, you will find a harambee invitation to pay school fees or a person to go to hospital. This Bill says that this is an Act of Parliament to provide a framework for regulations in the conduct of public fundraising appeals to promote transparency and accountability in carrying out of fundraising appeals and foster great philanthropy. I detest this. 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."
}