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"id": 235653,
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"speaker_name": "Ms. Ndung'u",
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"legal_name": "Susanna Njoki Ndung'u",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. First and foremost, may I congratulate the Mover of this Motion, hon. Dr. Julia Ojiambo for her efforts, particularly in this Parliament. She has brought before this House Motions and Bills which have helped our people. I stand to support this Motion because it is timely and well overdue. When we talk about providing financial support, particularly for poor women, I am always very happy. Women form 52 per cent of our population and yet they are still treated as second class citizens. This is especially so when it comes to accessing resources such as land title deeds and credit. Although women have to work twice as much as men, the way access to credit is structured in this country makes it very difficult for women to access loans. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, many banks have written or unwritten policies that make it incredibly difficult for women to access credit. There are banks that will insist that a woman should obtain the husband's permission. Others will require your husband's signature and if you are a single woman, they will ask of you to provide more collateral than they would ask of a single man or a married man. There are banks that will also look into possibilities of whether you will be marrying soon or the number of children a woman has. These are questions that they will not ask the male clients. In other words, we have some banks which are very woman-unfriendly. It is high time women decided to deal only with women-friendly banks. Currently, I am working with an organisation that is doing research concerning bank policies that have been unfriendly to women. If, indeed, we can name and shame these banks, personally, I will lead a boycott by women and men who support non-discrimination against women against those banks. Communities in the rural areas of this country have many roles which are changing. The traditional roles of men are ever- changing. You will find that women have now become the breadwinners of their homes. Roles are being reversed, but the rules for access to credit and other 3484 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 8, 2006 resources have not been reversed. I was reading in today's newspapers about a senior banker talking about how women are shy and afraid to take credit. I wish to state that this is not the position. Women are not afraid to apply for credit or to invest. That is why it is women, in fact, and not men who have organised merry-go-rounds. Women have also formed vyamas, that is, little groups formed for the purpose of pooling resources. I belong to several of these investment clubs and I can state here that they are doing very well. Women come together to pool their resources, thereby being able to invest or borrow money at a low interest. Some banks and financial institutions lend money, but they charge exorbitant interest rates which we cannot afford. Despite all these, we have been able to pay back our loans on time because we are so focused on our children and nurturing our families that we do not want to get into debts. This is proof that women make very good clients. This Motion by Dr. Ojiambo is the way to go. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in Bangladesh, they had a similar kind of structure in which they introduced the Grameen Bank. It served so many poor women to access small loans and actually start community projects. That bank has been such a resounding success that the founder of that bank received this year's Nobel Peace Prize. If Kenyans really want to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and if we want to be the success story that Bangladesh is and win another Nobel Peace Prize, then this is the way to go. We need to finance our people, particularly those who are poor. I am aware that the Government has some initiatives. Last week when I was sitting with some women groups and we were calling for a women's enterprise fund, the Minister for Finance was very quick to point out that the Government had already started some initiatives, for example, a Microfinance Bill that will soon be brought before the House, a rural enterprise programme, a SACCO Bill in the making and the Youth Fund. However, the Government and the Minister for Finance in particular needs, to recognise that all these initiatives have gaps. If you talk about a rural enterprise programme, what will happen to the people who live in the urban poor areas? Are these people covered? If you talk about the Microfinance Bill, are you really talking about the mama mboga or are you talking about people who have a slightly better income? I think this Motion is targeting mama mboga, that is, the woman who requires Kshs400 or Kshs500. It is targeting the persons who are not able to pay interest rates of more than 5 per cent. Therefore, the Government must note the gap. Even with all these initiatives they are establishing, they must be able to take care of the poorest people and apply affirmative action. Even if you look at the Youth Fund, it is wonderful. Indeed, it is an excellent idea, but what happens to Kenyans who are over the age of 35 years and would like to access funds for their business plans? I would, therefore, like to urge the Government to implement this Motion as soon as possible. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}