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"id": 235945,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/235945/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mungatana",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 185,
"legal_name": "Danson Buya Mungatana",
"slug": "danson-mungatana"
},
"content": "for safe keeping. Any time our people wanted back their money to do business, they would be told to wait until the end of the month or for two weeks. In the meantime, while the shopkeeper was doing business with that money, these poor people in many parts of our rural areas would not be allowed to get any loan from the shopkeepers. If they were to be given loans, they were asked to pay exorbitantly for those services. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all agree that we need financial services for our people in the rural areas. We also need this facility for the people who cannot access this kind of service in urban areas or who are asked for huge deposits by banks. I wholly urge this House to support this Bill and join other hon. Members who will speak in support of this Bill. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we remember on many occasions that due to the desperation and high demand of this type of service, many pretenders to the throne have come up to give this type of service to that class of people. The stories abound everywhere. We have seen people who have been made to believe that if they give a particular financial institution Kshs500 or Kshs1,000 for a few months, then they can go to that institution and they will be able to secure a loan to invest in a business. What has happened is a story that we all know. We have read in the newspapers, and our constituents have experienced it, after a period of time, they are given a lot of hope. When they visit that particular financial institution, they are told: \"Come tomorrow or next month, you have not done this or that.\" Even when they have met all the conditions that they have been given, they are told they did not qualify to get the loans. In the meantime, the little money they have been giving to those unregulated people goes missing. Sometimes even those institutions close down. Therefore, it is a very wise thought that this law has come to regulate the people who will be taking these small deposits. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am very happy to note that one of the things that is being proposed is that there will be a deposit protection scheme of up to Kshs100,000 for those who will bank their money so that in the event there is any collapse of the institution through business problems, the small depositors; our constituents in the rural areas; are protected. In this time and age, with the growth the economy has experienced within this short time that the NARC Government has been in power, we need to open up space for those people who are willing to work hard in the small businesses. These people need to access credit. We should also financially protect them. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, I want to support what the Minister said, that the requirement for the minimum capital will only be Kshs60 million. Essentially, this means that there will be proper competition for those who are willing to invest in this sector. This sector will now be properly regulated. This, therefore, means that the number of people who can raise the November 8, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3521 Kshs60 million will be more. There will also be competition for the provision of proper services to this client base, which will result in high quality services. This is a wonderful idea. I would urge other Kenyans who have been locked out of the normal banking requirements, which require high capital input of up to Kshs400 million to Kshs500 million, to seize this opportunity and serve the ordinary mwananchi . They will also be able to make something little out of the money that they will give. The poor people will also be in a position to get excellent services because the competition will be on the provision of quality services. I do not need to say more on this Bill. I will stop there, so that my comrades can also make their quick contributions and we have this Bill passed, because many people out there are waiting for it. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}