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{
    "id": 1507148,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1507148/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 196,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13588,
        "legal_name": "Osotsi Godfrey Otieno",
        "slug": "osotsi-godfrey-otieno"
    },
    "content": "I want to encourage the President to do the same for the other public institutions where he is the appointing authority. This gentleman, Mr. Gerald Nyaoma Arita, has 36 years of experience in this sector. This is a very long period. He has worked in this sector for the entirety of his life. I am confident that he is going to add value to the CBK, having served as a director in a number of very critical departments within the Central Bank. That positions him to do better as a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know that this appointment is pursuant to Section 13B of the Central Bank of Kenya Act, which requires the President to appoint two Deputy Governors. So Mr. Arita is just one of the two who are supposed to help the Governor in managing the CBK. We expect that we are going to have a bank that is going to deal with several critical areas. One of the major roles of the CBK is to regulate the monetary policy of this country which is very key to our economy. At this point, where our citizens are complaining about high prices for essential commodities, the CBK comes in handy, because one of the things they do is to ensure we have price stability as part of the monetary policy. A lot of focus has to be put so that we ensure that our people are not in a position where they are unable to purchase essential commodities like unga, sugar, paraffin, and cooking oil. We need a strong monetary policy, which is supported by a strong price stability strategy. When he was being interviewed by the Committee, he said that he would try to ensure that the Monetary Policy Committee of the CBK is made efficient and effective. I hope that he is going to live up to his words because this is one area that the Bank can help to ensure we have economic growth in the country. The next important thing is regulatory frameworks to deal with the issues around combating fraudulent activities in our financial sector. We have heard about money laundering which is on the increase. In fact, Kenya is one of the hotspots and epicentres for money laundering. The CBK plays an important role in combating these criminal activities. One of the things that we expect the CBK to do is to strengthen the existing regulations so that we have strong rules and regulations to combat money laundering in our markets. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, issues of cybercrime are also very serious in this country. I read a report that said the banking sector in Kenya is losing up to Kshs21 billion every year as a result of cybercrime. Most of the banks do not report about it and opt to keep quiet. I hope the CBK, where Mr. Nyaoma is going to be the Deputy Governor, will do something about increasing levels of cybercrime targeting the financial sector. If you have a financial sector that is prone to cybercrime, then you will be unable to even implement what the Senate Majority Leader was talking about; cryptocurrency. If indeed this country wants to move the digital way in terms of money transactions; it will be important to focus on eradicating cybercrime targeting the financial sector so that people have confidence in doing business through cryptocurrency. It is also important that the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) leverages technology in its operation. It is very key. 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."
}