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{
    "id": 235997,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/235997/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 314,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Prof. Maathai",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 226,
        "legal_name": "Wangari Muta Maathai",
        "slug": "wangari-maathai"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Bill. I want congratulate the Minister. This a very welcome Bill that will help to reduce poverty and address the concerns of the poor people in this country. I know that we do not have much time left, I want to very quickly mention the fact that the value and power of microfinance institutions has clearly been demonstrated by Prof. Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh who established the Grameen Bank. He won the Nobel Peace Prize this year. I want to congratulate him from this House. In fact, he has globally set the trend and given the importance of microfinance institutions. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in supporting this Bill, there are those of us who have been concerned about the issue of capital. I want to give the example of Prof. Yunus who started the Grameen Bank with a capital of US$500. I want to appeal to the Minister to look into the possibility of greatly reducing the capital that is required. What is really needed in this country, and what is likely to make these microfinance institutions succeed is the development of a culture of honesty. That was a very important point in the development of the Grameen Bank. Unless we develop a culture of honesty in this country, we will not succeed, not in the same way that the Asian Grameen Bank has succeeded. I want to appeal to our people, even as we go out to try this approach, that we must develop a culture of honesty. There is nothing to be proud of when people keep saying that the reason why our region does not develop is because the leaders are very corrupt and that they are not committed to the needs of our people. Prof. Yunus was an economist with a PhD. He decided to work with his people, the ordinary women who were being lent about US$3 or US$4 per day. One of the successes of the Grameen Bank is the fact that the repayment rate has been as high as 98 per cent. These are the values that we want to cultivate, so that we can make the microfinance business a successful tool for development in this country. This needs to be emphasised, not really to the Minister because he will not borrow, but to our people, to understand that these must be the values that we deliberately and consciously cultivate. We must fight corruption in our financial institutions. Everybody wonders why in this country we have continued to allow banks to charge such high interest rates and to literally make billions out of poor people. How can banks make billions in a country where 60 per cent of the people make less than US$1 a day? It does not make sense. It is unfortunate that banks are allowed to charge such high interest rates. The Minister could, probably, address the fact that people who are in power, those who can have conflict of interest should not be appointed as directors of banks, financial or housing institutions. One of the reasons why people are literally exploited in this country, so that very few people can own houses or borrow money is because those of us who should be protecting our people from exploitation are co-opted into these institutions. We then have a conflict of interest. We end up protecting the institutions rather than our people. As we strongly support this initiative, we want to appeal to the Ministers and, indeed, to ourselves as leaders, that we must protect our people. I do not know of any country in the world which allows foreigners to come and in the name of investment and creation of jobs, literally allow their people to be exploited and reduced to poverty-stricken citizens. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}