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{
    "id": 1566567,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1566567/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 320,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "This time, we are lucky because it is their Bill. The Senate is the ‘upper’ House. We are not the ‘upper’ House because we need powers or anything. We are the ‘upper’ House because we know that there are things that are not worth fighting for. We do not look at who commenced a Bill. If a Bill is good, we should separate on it. I, therefore, urge Sen. Ledama to take the weekend to improve this Bill by reviewing it page by page. It contains many important proposals, which I have already examined step by step in my moving notes. I heard Sen. Ledama’s point regarding the necessity of a national director for cooperatives. This role is crucial as it serves as the registrar of all cooperatives. While we have established county-level registrars, we must consider that some SACCOs and cooperatives operate across multiple counties. Take Imarisha SACCO as an example. It operates in Kericho, Narok and Bomet counties. If it were solely managed by a county registrar, how would issues arising in neighbouring counties be addressed? This demonstrates the need for coordination at the national level, and not under a Cabinet Secretary. This is because a Cabinet Secretary is the head of policy formulation. However, for day-to-day operations and management, a designated official at that level is necessary. Therefore, our colleagues have good reason to take time before concluding this matter. We still have ample time to finalize the work. I am aware that the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare tabled their report last week. I urge Members to read it thoroughly and appreciate the insights shared by stakeholders, particularly why they consider this matter to be of urgent importance. Sen. Ledama, I encourage you to carefully review the report from the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare paying special attention to the memorandum submitted by the SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) regarding the challenges in this space. More importantly, beyond the challenges, we must consider the opportunity costs we are missing as a country by not regulating our SACCOs properly. If we get this right, we may not even need the many banks currently operating, as SACCOs are increasingly competing with them. Many banks focus on buying and selling Government securities rather than lending to ordinary citizens. If SACCOs are strengthened and properly regulated, they could provide better financial access to the people, driving economic growth from the grassroots level. A stronger SACCO, Sen. Ledama---"
}