Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 193384,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/193384/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 183,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Munya",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for East African Community",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 279,
        "legal_name": "Joseph Konzolo Munyao",
        "slug": "joseph-munyao"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you raise issues, your being part of the Government does not mean that you are not allowed to point out some of the misgivings, or policy failures, that you would want your Government to improve on. To be a part of the Government does not mean you have to be a sycophant, who sings praises everyday. You should also be in a position to raise issues, which I have been trying to do. Mr. Speaker, Sir, back to the Budget proposals, and I am now praising the Government. There are many proposals that are intended to spur economic growth. An example is the zero-rating of Value Added Tax (VAT) on milk, bread and rice. Those were very good proposals to make food affordable. This also includes the proposal to reduce import duty on wheat, which will be implemented when the other East African countries agree. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Minister also talked about the ambitious programme to raise money through bonds to build infrastructure, so that we can also create employment opportunities for the youth and other people in the country. But there is one proposal that I find it difficult to accept. This concerns raising the minimum core capital for starting a bank from Kshs250 million to Kshs1 billion. If you compare this with all the other policies you wonder why the Minister is keen on raising it to Kshs1 billion. I remember that this proposal was brought the previous year and it was rejected. I urge the House to reject it this year!"
}