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"id": 183721,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/183721/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Nyagah",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Co-operative Development and Marketing",
"speaker": {
"id": 269,
"legal_name": "Joseph Nthiga Nyagah",
"slug": "joseph-nyagah"
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, so, there is no reason for them fearing. I do not encourage people to fear. There is enough competition between the institutions that I have mentioned and every single one of them is going after the money that is in the economy. I would like to thank those institutions and request them to support our movement. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, every speaker who has spoken has clearly stated that this is a pro-poor Bill. It is one of those Bills that the Government has introduced to deal with the issues of helping the poor and the salaried people of this country. These are the people who have struggled in the past because they have had no access to the formal economy and credit as we know it, particularly those in urban poor and the rural areas. I wish to confirm that I have taken into account all the comments on the proposed amendments by the House Committee. I also wish to confirm that the comments made about the Authority that will supervise the SACCOs will be taken into account. I am comfortable with the October 16, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2821 views expressed about the board appointments. Members of this House indicated alike that the four members of the board that will be nominated by the Minister take into account gender and youth. The board should be comprised of members who have a history and track record in the co- operative movement. It is also understood that three members come from the Government side, because of the importance of this activity. I also wish to confirm that I will ensure that all of us work very hard together to ensure better governance of SACCOs as is intended by this Bill. We will also ensure better regulation and investment policies. As Members said, we would like to see better credit policies. We will work together to ensure that this happens. Everybody who has spoken has supported the concept of the Deposit Guarantee Fund. I wish to confirm that we will take into account your views when we come to the Committee of the whole House where there could be a few amendments in order to strengthen the Deposit Guarantee Fund that will definitely help our people who very often find themselves with nothing once they have lost their savings. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is no question in my mind that I have the full support of the House and that the hon. Members want to see better management of our SACCOs. That is, indeed, what we intend to do. This Bill will effectively play this role. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there has been a big debate about the role of commercial banks and deletion of Clause 32. I am happy that we have all agreed that there is need for SACCOs to continue enjoying the rights that they have had. They should continue issuing bank cheques, open savings accounts and so on. SACCOs should not fear because I fully support deletion of that Clause. SACCOs can continue enjoying what they have been doing. I am told that in law, there is something called \"acquired rights.\" They have acquired these rights and it would be unfair to remove those rights of the activities that they are involved in if suddenly they were to be curtailed. But in the same breadth, let me say that commercial banks have nothing to fear. In fact, I do see a situation where commercial banks will work closely with the SACCOs in order to strengthen each other. I see a situation where commercial banks will be looking - as they already are - for SACCOs to work together for the good of every single one of us. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, hon. Mureithi has raised the issue of deposits vis-a-vis shares. It was raised by the Committee and we went through it in great detail. At the moment, when you put your money in a SACCO, it is not clear what are the deposits and shares. There has been a major problem sometimes in defining the capital of a SACCO. The new method that will be used as a result of the amendment that has been proposed will make it very clear as to what are shares. So, as each person contributes, they know their shares. But in exchange, those deposits would earn some interest. Therefore, the dividends would come down to the individuals. But it is important for accounting purposes and maintaining international standards of accounting, that this be done. That is why it has been introduced by the Committee on Agriculture, Lands and Natural Resources that looked at it in great detail. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, SACCOs are creating a saving culture. This morning, I had the privilege of meeting close to 200 Jua Kali associations and SACCOs of Nairobi. I encouraged them - and I think I succeeded - to merge and create one very big SACCO for the JuaKali sector in Nairobi. In a country where we have about six million Jua Kali workers; if they were all to join together and create a SACCO, we all can imagine the kind of savings and magnitude of the monies that they would be able to save. The other day, as I said, in Nyanza, I was able to convince fishermen to save only Kshs100 a day from the Kshs500 or Kshs1,000 that they earn in a day. Those SACCOs are going to be very critical for creating a saving culture. I would like to appeal to Kenyans to join our increasingly better managed SACCOs, so that we encourage the culture of saving in this country. This is because we must save for our future. We get old very quickly. When you are young person, you do not realise how quickly you get to the age of 60 years 2822 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 16, 2008 or 70 years. You need to have those savings. There is no better way of saving than joining a SACCO. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we all know that 30 per cent of all our financial requirements are met by the SACCOs. Therefore, this is critical to the development of our country. Many Members of Parliament requested the Government to channel the devolved funds for the youth and women groups via the well-managed SACCOs. I am happy that in some areas this is happening already. I would like to encourage the Ministries involved to channel more funds. At the same time, encourage those people running efficient SACCOs to come forward to the Ministries involved and ensure that we get some of that money. It is a lot of money. It is possible for this money to be channelled through well managed SACCOs. As I have gone round the country, I have realised that some SACCOs are not aware that it is their right to go and explain their case to the appropriate Ministries, so that some of those devolved funds that the Government is channelling to the constituencies are, in fact, channelled through them. I wish to thank the Members of Parliament because I know they have been able using the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), to encourage their committees to bank with strong and efficient SACCOs. I would encourage them to continue doing so. By so doing, they are encouraging the growth of a very important pro-poor movement called the SACCO movement. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is no question that the creation of employment is a major step for this Government. As we keep on talking of Vision 2030, what a better way of creating employment in the rural and urban poor areas than creating SACCOs that will create employment opportunities for our people. I have also been talking to many donors. Donors are willing to channel some of their funds through efficient SACCOs. That is why it is important; therefore, given that, that is the development that we are coming across, we should ensure that we have SACCOs supported by the Government, donors and companies as a way of reaching our people at the grassroots, who need that kind of help. As I went round, I was also told that there are serious problems of pyramid schemes in this country. Part of it is because when our people have no option, and when what they perceive as good opportunities come about, they get tempted and get into pyramid schemes which then cause problems for them later on in their lives. This is very sad for our people. So, having many SACCOs at all levels, at the market level and small towns, the effect is that the temptation to put money in programmes that might be speculative, or schemes that could put our people in trouble later on and then they start looking to the Government for help--- This problem will be solved by ensuring that SACCOs are at the grassroots and village level, where people can make their money legitimately and without fear, because they know the people managing the SACCOs. Those are some of the comments that I picked up from this House. They are in addition to what the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Lands and Natural Resources and the many stakeholders recommended during the discussions that have taken almost three years. I hope that when we come to the Committee Stage, this House will give us the same support that it has given us so far in order for us to incorporate crucial amendments before we pass this Bill and make it effective. I wish to confirm that once it is through, I will ensure that the rules that will govern the movement will be fair to all. The rules to manage the activities of SACCOs and the authority to be started will be such that they will be fair to every Kenyan, and that every Kenyan will feel that we created an authority to help them. It will not be an authority to suppress them or create chaos in the market place but one that will encourage growth. So, the amendments that have been proposed will be incorporated into Bill along the lines I have indicated. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, with those few words I say thanks to every Kenyan out there in the villages, towns and markets, who has supported--- October 16, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2823 Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move."
}