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"id": 244522,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Raila",
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"speaker": {
"id": 195,
"legal_name": "Raila Amolo Odinga",
"slug": "raila-odinga"
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. This is a very important Motion, because credit finance is something that is very important for any kind of development in a country. This country will only develop properly and meaningfully if we make capital available to the people at the grassroots level. There is no point in announcing a 5.4 per cent and 5.8 economic growth rate when that growth cannot be felt at the grassroots level. Our people are continuing to be impoverished. Countries that have developed are countries that have come up with comprehensive development policies that target the common man. As the Mover has said, experience has shown that commercial banks are profit-motivated. They move away from our rural areas to commercial centres to make high profits. The concept of micro-finance has worked in many countries. For instance, in Bangladesh it has worked very well. This is why I fully support the idea of allowing the Kenya Post Office Savings Bank to open branches in all our rural areas. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in 1938, my mother-in-law opened a savings account with the Kenya Post Office Savings Bank. She still has this account. This means that as early as that time, this concept was seen as a major way of availing credit facilities to the people at the grassroots level. This country must address the issue of the vicious cycle of poverty among our people. Countries like Malaysia and South Korea have dealt with poverty in this way. I fully support the idea of enabling this bank to open branches in our rural areas. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}