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{
    "id": 21673,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/21673/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 842,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. M’Mithiaru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 72,
        "legal_name": "Ntoitha M'mithiaru",
        "slug": "ntoitha-mmithiaru"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to support this Motion from the joint committees. First, let me thank the Minister for Energy and his team for the good job they are doing, especially in the area of rural electrification. As we are going through this request for the guarantees, the issue that we raised, as a Committee, which I support, is that there is a big demand from Kenyans, which we are not able to satisfy. That is why the Government is borrowing this money, hence the guarantee. We also know that Vision 2030, through which Kenya is supposed to become an industrialized nation, requires power. Unless we have adequate power, we can never achieve that vision. For the Kenyans, we require sustainable supply of energy which is also affordable. So, we need the assurance that the guarantee that the Government is giving, and the loans that will eventually come, will give Kenyans affordable power. We were convinced that with the grace period of the loans plus the low interest rate, that benefit will be passed on to Kenyans, so that we can enjoy affordable power. The guarantee by the Government is not in any way risking or mortgaging the nation. We are convinced that the KPLC is able to repay that loan. We even went through the cash flow statement and in the unlikely event that there would be any default and then the Government steps in, it will be able to recoup the money; so, there will be no risk here at all to the Government for providing this guarantee. There were other issues of concern that were raised like the shareholding of KenGen, where it is 30 per cent owned by the public and 70 per cent by the Government, but under the law of guarantee, if there is any default, the guarantor walks in and forecloses the borrower. You cannot do it partially. So, the 30 per cent that is not owned by the Government is not an issue at all, because the Government can just go in there and manage KenGen as a whole without any due reference to the minority shareholders. With those few remarks, I support."
}