HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 244515,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/244515/?format=api",
"text_counter": 86,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Maathai",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 226,
"legal_name": "Wangari Muta Maathai",
"slug": "wangari-maathai"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to contribute on this Motion. I would like to thank Mr. Oloo-Aringo for bringing this Motion to the House because anything that will help our people to access financial resources in this country is extremely important. As was mentioned by Mr. Angwenyi, most of our people; 56 per cent, are poor. We all know that banks do not bother about poor people. As a result, a large number of our people is in the periphery of the banking system in our country. Nevertheless, it always amazes me that the banks in this country make huge profits. I have never fully understood where they get their money from. It is probably due to the very high interest rate that they charge when they lend monies. I have always wondered why banks make so much money yet Kenya is a country that is extremely poor. Where does this money come from? How come we, as a Government, do not make it possible for the poorer people to access this money? If the alternative or solution is to create a bank through the Post Office, indeed, this should be a welcome move. We already know that many poor people in the rural areas actually get their money through the bank or they would like to deposit money through the KPOSB. So, if the services were extended, this is one Government parastatal that would truly be beneficial to the ordinary people in the countryside. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, having said that, I would like to say that in general our country - let me not talk about other countries but talk about our country - needs to be disciplined. I do not think we shall go anywhere, as a country, until we learn to be disciplined. So many banks have been opened in this country, especially, indigenous banks. They were intended to assist our people exactly in the way that we are proposing in this Motion. Mr. Deputy Speaker Sir, many of our indigenous banks have collapsed due to corruption and indiscipline in their management. Indeed, many institutions such as co-operative societies, especially those in our coffee, dairy and tea sub-sectors, were established to take money to people in our rural areas. It is due to indiscipline we have been unable to take resources to our people. We will continue to be an extremely poor country, even though we have a lot of resources, if we do not observe discipline in management. As a Government and leaders, we should deliberately cultivate a culture of discipline. We usually see a lot of indiscipline among our leaders. Even those of us at the top should demonstrate discipline in small matters like time keeping and be where we are supposed to be at the right time. We should demonstrate a lot of discipline in all that we do. Indiscipline encourages dishonesty, non-accountability and lack of transparency. This in turn leads to big corruption. In this country we are virtually unable to control corruption. The bedrock of corruption is indiscipline. So, we should support this Motion to enable our people to access loans. Unless we cultivate a culture of discipline, I do not see this country going anywhere. Recently we toured South Asia and Far East countries to see if we can benefit from their experiences. All countries in the East have moved away from under-development into super- development. These are countries like India, China and South Korea. When you look at how these countries attained development, you will realise that discipline was paramount in the development of any country. I am talking about discipline among leaders and ordinary people. So, we should focus on these values and realise that development does not come by chance. It comes because of consciously and deliberately pursuing certain policies and values that make a difference in the way we manage our economic affairs. I recently listened to the directors of the Kenya Women Finance Trust give their annual 1810 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 5, 2006 Report. They were very proud to report that 98 per cent of those to whom they had given loans to managed to pay them back. Some people felt that it was, of course, because they were women."
}