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{
    "id": 1506362,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1506362/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 133,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kinangop, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kwenya Thuku",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13380,
        "legal_name": "Zachary Kwenya Thuku",
        "slug": "zachary-kwenya-thuku"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this very important Bill brought by my colleague, the Member for Kitui Central. From the word ‘go’, I want to support the Bill for the simple reason that we are 14 years late into aligning this Act with the realities contained in our Constitution. When it comes to matters to do with Parliament, it becomes very difficult for us to actually debate or even legislate because we are perceived by the public out there as if we are legislating for our own benefit. As a cardinal rule, even as you serve food at home, being the mother of the house, you do not serve everybody else and forget yourself so that you are not perceived to be selfish. I think it is right for Parliament to act right despite the noise. People will always make noise, whether we do the right thing or not. Whatever it is that we do, there will be some level of resistance from voters because we run offices that are very competitive. I have taken a keen interest in looking at how other arms of the government deal with themselves. I can tell you for sure that one of the arms of the government that we sit in, the Legislature, does not seem to be there. It is not perceived by the public out there as if there is anything good that can come out of this House. We have Members of Parliament who served their constituents for many years in this House but after they left, they started to live in a desolate state. They cannot take care of themselves. By the time you leave this House, three things will have happened. You will have lost your wealth, health and friends. That being the case, we must not lose ourselves. We may lose everything else but not ourselves. There must be a way in which Members who have served in this House can be taken care of. Without making any disclosures, I have interacted closely with Members of Parliament who have served in this House before. I meet them on the streets or within the confines of Parliament. They have been reduced to beggars. It is a pity. It is a shame that an arm of government like Parliament cannot take care of its retired Members. I am the Chairman of the Parliamentary SACCO. I can tell you that we have been trying to look for a way of encouraging Members to save for a post-retirement health insurance cover because we realized that health is one of the issues that come up after Members have retired. I am happy that there is a proposition in this Bill to contribute to post-retirement schemes even as we actively serve in this House. I am also happy with this Bill because it has captured gender. Before, the drafters of the Act had not envisioned a situation where Members of Parliament with spouses would have their benefits transferred to their widows after retirement, in the sad event that they pass on. We are taking cue from what the President said the other day. He said he will populate this House with gender balance. That means we will have many female Members of Parliament. Therefore, their husbands, who will be widowers at that time, will be their dependents or the people who are supposed to enjoy their benefits after they have passed on. Those were not captured in the Act. They are captured today. Hon. Makali Mulu has brought a visionary amendment. I do not want to belabour the point in supporting this Bill. As Members of Parliament, we must know that we will exit at one point. Therefore, we must put our House in order. Let us make sure that we put in law anything that is of benefit to a Member of Parliament who has served his or her people diligently so that nothing is lost once we exit this House."
}