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{
    "id": 1523695,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523695/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 194,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "parents had already retired. Nevertheless, when you look at it, pain has been caused to many people there. People who were earning good money and in very stable economic environment, all of a sudden, have nothing. There is no prospect of going to get even half the salaries from any other opportunities that may exist in Mombasa. Madam Temporary Speaker, there were buses and bottling companies that used to come and go to the East African Plant. There were repair people and those who used to sell fuel and diesel to keep the company. The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) used to earn a living plus all the fees we got from that company. When I became a little older and visited that place, which was bustling with life, I was shocked to find out that it is completely dead with old dilapidated buildings. Many of us who grew up knowing Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), it had a very strong football team in the entire Mombasa Town. Therefore, this is a failure on the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). I hope that the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry is listening where he is, that the people there make approval of transfer of shares and that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) does not go down to where these companies are. They just approve purchase of shares and then people lose jobs. Those who are trading with KBL lost their jobs. The business people who were sustaining life and limb lost all those business opportunities. The CMA sitting in Nairobi just to approve the transfer of shares without moving to where these companies were producing or the principle of public participation. I entirely agree that we need to look at this law again. My colleague has mentioned that the economies within East Africa have regulations on how people from outside can buy shares into companies in this country. Even if the owners of those companies are making money, how can it be that because of your greed, you sell a company and then 6,000 people become unemployed? The CMA sitting in Nairobi does not bother to go to Mombasa or Nairobi to see what is happening. They look at papers and approve to let Diageo buy the company, and then people become jobless. It is heartless. This Petition by Mr. Nicholas Rono should trigger something within the soul of Kenya; that it is not just about making money even for the people who start companies. The employees must be protected and people trading with those companies must be protected, especially when these companies become very big. I agree that we need to look afresh at the CMA. The CEO and the people who approved the killing of industry within Kenya by looking at papers and approving shares in Nairobi, shame on you for creating poverty amongst families as people become millionaires and take golden parachutes and go home. Madam Temporary Speaker, I firmly agree that we need to look at the Capital Markets Authority Act and act on it. We need to protect the small people who are making a living out of these companies that are traded, shares are changed and then effectively companies are killed. Another major recommendation is about the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK). I have had the fortune of serving at the Regional Authority on competition matters. I have served as a Commissioner for six years in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Competition Commission. This is the equivalent of the CAK at the regional level. I am shocked that the CAK has received 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."
}