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{
    "id": 1511231,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1511231/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 307,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kinangop, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kwenya Thuku",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13380,
        "legal_name": "Zachary Kwenya Thuku",
        "slug": "zachary-kwenya-thuku"
    },
    "content": "the industry, meaning that we are creeping back to the dark days when we only had a few banks that monopolised the market. They had created a cartel which controlled lending in terms of interest rates. They got to a place where they would not provide banking services to the so- called small traders. They would not take small monies. It is only right to increase the term from three to 10 years. We should stagger the same and require that the banks increase their core capital by Ksh1 billion every year for 10 years so that we do not kill the 'babies' coming up the block. We must be alive to that fact if we want to safeguard our customers so they do not lose their deposits. I am also happy that the Central Bank of Kenya will be looking into the lending practices of microfinance institutions and banks. As my predecessor who has just spoken has said, banks have been reporting supernormal profits when everybody else is making losses. This is simply because they have been left to determine how much they will add above the CBK lending rate, thereby making profits they are not shy to report. In our dialect, we say that once you eat and are full, you should cover your stomach. Banks have been uncovering their full stomachs, yet everybody else is struggling. And they auction our property every day. Therefore, I am happy that after the passage of this law, the CBK will rein in the lending habits of microfinance institutions. There are instances where I have had to come to the rescue of people, especially students, who fall victim to lending microfinance institutions. They take their laptops to digital lenders in exchange for money. Once they are unable to pay, the lenders take whatever the students have acquired. I am therefore in support of CBK reining in microfinance institutions that shylock. Credit guarantee businesses have had many issues because they are not regulated. Whenever they issue bonds and claimants come looking for them, the businesses cannot raise the money they guaranteed. The guarantor then loses. Many companies issue performance and bid bonds. They should be regulated and share data with CBK so that they do not issue bonds and guarantees above their capability. Regulation will cushion the guaranteed from losing their investment. I am in support of the registration of manufacturers with KEBS. So many unscrupulous manufacturers produce harmful, substandard products or do not meet the weight indicated in the package. I have a specific issue with cement manufacturers, which happened to me recently. I engaged a project manager, and he told me that most of the cement we use today does not meet the required international standards. They did a study with the University of Nairobi and found that the standards indicated on the packaging were not met. This Bill would not have come at a better time. It is time KEBS realised that whatever standards cement manufacturers use are not in tandem with the research findings of scholars. They indicate 50 kilogrammes on the package, but in reality, the cement weighs less. We tested at one site with the project manager and found a bag of cement weighing about 43 kilogrammes. It is about time we called out departments sleeping on the job, especially the Weights and Measures Department, so they do what they need to do. Hon. (Dr) Oundo asked about the difference between yesterday's and today's weights. A kilogramme of meat yesterday is not the same today. Have we changed the calibration of measurement equipment? We are the same people who were there yesterday. We know the mischief in the industry. Once the price is increased, unscrupulous manufacturers and business people reduce weight so that they do not make any losses but still sell products at the same price. Today, the President commissioned a steel manufacturing factory in the Coast region today. This is another industry we need to rein in. Many buildings collapse because of substandard steel. A Y10 building bar used back in the day is not the same as the one we use today. The KEBS must rise to the occasion and make sure that products being consumed by"
}