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"id": 208526,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/208526/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Muite",
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"speaker": {
"id": 235,
"legal_name": "Paul Kibugi Muite",
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"content": "A Bill by any Member of Parliament, which is a Public Bill, should be equated with a Bill being introduced by the Government and fast-tracked so that a Bill like this one we are seeking to introduce, which is so fundamentally important, not just in updating the laws--- When you look at other countries, the centrepiece of their arrangement is legislation relating to monopolies. It is a very important piece of legislation all over the world. That is why you will see on CNN that a merger between this and that company is awaiting consent. What is the objective of all these things? The objective of all these things is public good. It is the public of a particular country that is intended to be protected through regulations so that members of the public are not left at the mercies or vagaries of absolute free trade. That is not in the public interest. The public can be fleeced or charged prices that are way above their means. The public can be skinned. So, the Government and the law have a duty to ensure that, that will not happen. They need to ensure that the public is protected. That is the purpose of this centrepiece legislation in all the other countries. In the developed countries, if they see that this is an essential piece of legislation that is for the good of the public, then, a fortiori how much more do developing countries like Kenya need this sort of legislation? This is because we are at the mercy of these multinationals! The budgets of some of these multinationals are many times the budget of Kenya as a country. So, they are able to really dictate even to the Government and even fleece the Kenyan public or the public in the third world countries. 3188 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 15, 2007 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, so, we need this legislation yesterday and not tomorrow. When you look at, for example, the oil companies, it does not matter what we say about the free market forces and so on; they are able to meet over dinner or lunch and actually say, \"these are the prices we are going to charge\". This is what we need to regulate. If you look at matters that actually damage the economy of a country or matters that are wrong, you will find that--- That is why we need, when this legislation is here, to have a commission that is going to look into all these things. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will find that, for example, many years ago, during the last regime, we went to Saudi Arabia and held negotiations. The Saudi Arabian Government assumed that they were trying to help Kenya by giving them concessionary rates to buy crude oil. Clever individuals in this country, instead of National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK), went and formed another company with initials that are similar to those of NOCK and the contract was signed between the Saudi Arabian Government and that company. Up to today, the Government of Saudi Arabia thinks that it is benefitting the people of Kenya and yet it is a particular oil company owned by individuals that continues, up to now, to buy crude oil at subsidised prices. The profits are going into pockets of individuals! They are not benefitting the Kenyan public. These are the sort of issues we shall want investigated. When we have this piece of legislation, even the Public Investments Committee (PIC) will not hit brick walls when investigating who initially got the 10 per cent when they were facilitating the acquisition or privatisation of Safaricom. So, this is a very important piece of legislation and, through you, I urge Members of Parliament to really support this Motion. We should grant this leave and come up with this piece of legislation even before the Ninth Parliament is dissolved. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ninth Parliament, as you know, has been vilified by our friends in the media. They have continued to give inaccurate information that the Ninth Parliament has done nothing and that the first thing Members did was to increase their own salaries. The media knows that, that is not true. It knows that the truth and accurate position is that it is the Eighth Parliament, through mheshimiwa Speaker, appointed the Cockar Commission. It is the Cockar Commission which fixed the emoluments of Members of Parliament. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Cockar Commission recommended that those emoluments should take effect with the Ninth Parliament, which is why the emoluments started applying when the Ninth Parliament came here. It is not the Ninth Parliament which increased the emoluments. So, this is a piece of legislation that we need to pass so that the Kenyan public can also know that the Ninth Parliament actually acted in promoting the greatest public good in this country. The media should not just give the public incorrect information; that the Ninth Parliament only increased its salaries. Those emoluments, of course, are going to apply even to the Tenth Parliament. Even if each and every hon. Member in this Ninth Parliament is voted out, I place my bet that the people who will come to this august House as the Tenth Parliament, will not reduce those emoluments. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support."
}