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{
    "id": 245461,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/245461/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 133,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Musila",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 94,
        "legal_name": "David Musila",
        "slug": "david-musila"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I want to join my colleagues in congratulating the Minister for Finance for the Budget he read in this House. I do not want to say that it is the best Budget because we use the same phrase - it is the best Budget - every year. I, particularly, want to congratulate the Minister for Finance because it was his first Budget and not because it was the best. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in summary, let me touch on what Mr. Muite has said with regard to pensioners. I want to thank the Government for increasing wages for public officers, and particularly, the lower cadres although it is not sufficient. However, I want to focus on pension because the Government has not come up with a clear policy to take care of pensioners. Recently, the President announced that the minimum pension will be increased from Kshs500 to Kshs2,000. However, there must be a deliberate policy to look after pensioners. This is because in every country, whenever there is a salary increment for public officers, a corresponding percentage is given to pensioners. This is because you cannot expect pensioners to survive on the little money that they were awarded many years ago. So, as the Government announces an increment of salaries for public officers today, it should correspondingly announce the increment for pensioners. Those are people who have no representation, are suffering and cannot go on strike. We passed a Bill in this House, and it is law, that pensioners must be paid their benefits before they leave office. Today, the Government is breaking the law because many pensioners are still at home without their pensions. I urge the Minister for Finance, in whose docket the Pensions Department falls, to immediately publish increment for pensioners and also ensure that those who retire receive their pensions as quickly as possible. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Youth Fund was established by the Minister for Finance and this is a brilliant idea. However, unless we have a system of distributing those funds equitably, by the end of this financial year, we will find that the money has been used in one or two 1656 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 28, 2006 districts, and you know which districts I am talking about. So, we must have a system in place of allocating those funds to districts. I am not suggesting that hon. Members should be in charge of the Fund. Let the money be distributed to all the districts. We should not be told that we have a Fund of Kshs1 billion and at the end of the year, we are told that those funds were not disbursed to some areas. While still on the Youth Fund, I want to draw the attention of the Minister for Finance to the plight of thousands of students who left school but cannot access employment opportunities because they have no certificates."
}