HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 235942,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/235942/?format=api",
"text_counter": 259,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Weya",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 304,
"legal_name": "Sammy Arthur Weya",
"slug": "sammy-weya"
},
"content": "No, I have no problem. I am saying it is there, but it is not realistic in the grassroots. A company like Safaricom is really growing and even banks are really growing. The financial institutions are really extending. We have no doubt about that. But when you go down to the rural areas, are we feeling this effect? That is my argument. We want the ordinary mwananchi at the grassroots to feel the growth. If we look at the time NARC came into power and now, the prices of most goods have increased. At that time, sugar cost Kshs32 per kilogramme, now it is Kshs62. That is the point I am trying to drive home. I am talking about the man in the village, our voters; not the few elites who are holding shares in the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Recently, I went to South Africa and I found out that the Government is trying to fight poverty in the grassroots by supplying inputs to the poor persons in the rural areas to enable them to take off. For example, my constituency used to grow cotton and now we want to revive the cotton industry. For a while, the cotton farmer has not been able from zero to take-off because the seeds are not there and they cannot afford to buy fertiliser. They are not even able to plough their land. In the 21st century, it is very wrong for a country like Kenya to have people tilling land using hoes. We need to look at how we can mechanise farming and create a finance that can enable our people to hire a tractor that is able to plough two acres within three hours instead of two acres within a week. This is the vision we need. As a young leader, it is my vision that we mechanise farming at the grassroots level. With the CDF, I have been able to subsidise the farmers efforts by buying a tractor where they can plough their land at Kshs1,500 per acre instead of Kshs3,500 per acre. Many governments around the world are subsidising their farmers and there is no reason why we cannot do the same. We need to finance the agricultural sector. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, microfinancing is also key to industry. In order for Kenya to look at industry in the issue of ICTs, we should look at how we can finance our youths in the rural areas to become computer-literate and keep up with what is happening across the world. We should look at what is happening around us to be able to finance the right product; whether ICT, agriculture or industry. This industry can also be very basic. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, recently, when I went for a cotton seminar, there was this lady who was given an order to supply 20 containers of her produce to the USA every month. She was a small producer. But she was told to produce 20 containers every month for a year. She went back to look at how to meet this order. If we could have a network of microfinancing around the country, we would help many other entrepreneurs like her and we would create employment and make money for our people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, microfinance institutions in other countries are created from simple ideas. University graduates and students from other institutions such as colleges are always looking for employment. This country might not have the capacity to employ all these people. However, we know that some of the ideas these young people may be having can generate money. In some countries, for example, a graduate may go to a bank to borrow money to finance a particular idea. The bank will review the idea and decide whether to support it or not. If it is a brilliant one, the bank will be ready to finance it. However, in this country, if a graduate goes to borrow money to finance an idea he is asked for security. The only security that this young woman or man may have is the degree certificate in his or her pocket. The bank may ask for a title deed, this person may not own a piece of land. This young individual may lack what to give as a guarantee. Some may even opt for a cartel type of bargain where they say they can buy equipment \"a\", \"b\", \"c\" or \"d\". The cheque the bank will issue could be used to pay for the equipment. One may think this is the only security, but banks in this country do not just want to hold equipment as security, they want to hold land and the currency in someone's bank account. They make it more 3520 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 8, 2006 difficult for young Kenyans to access loans by asking for a six-month banking record. They claim they want to know somebody's financial capacity. By so doing, we are not enabling our people to come out of poverty. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we, as hon. Members, need to look into how we can work out ways of empowering our people by giving them opportunities to borrow money and develop themselves as individuals. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}