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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to second this very good Motion. On the outset, I want to thank the Mover of this Motion, hon. Oloo-Aringo, for a well thought-out Motion, which is pro- the-poor. I also want to thank a few hon. members of this House who moved pro-the-poor Motions. Among these Motions was the one moved by Eng. Karue and the just concluded Motion by hon. Ojaamong. Indeed, the Mover has very eloquently moved this Motion. As a Seconder, I could just bow, second it and sit down. He has concluded the Motion. I believe all hon. Members are going to support this Motion. Secondly, I want to thank the Government. I have not seen, during the life of this Ninth Parliament, Ministers from the Government side opposing a Motion for the sake of it. I do not believe any Government Minister will oppose this Motion. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a very clear Motion. It seeks to do what this Government promised to do in the year 2002, when its members were campaigning as NARC. The Government promised to reconstruct every sector of our economy, because of what they termed, at that time, as 24 years of misrule by KANU. This Motion seeks to empower the two million account-holders in the Kenya Post Office Savings Bank. I would like to give you a few examples of what I think this Government has done well in the recent past. On the issue of devolving funds to the rural areas, we have directed the cess, the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF), bursaries and the CDF to rural areas. All these funds go to the rural poor. Indeed, if we transform the Kenya Post Office Savings Bank into a lending institution, a lot of rural people will benefit. June 14, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1341 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, 60 per cent of employment is found in the informal sector. I will give you an example of my own Mumias Constituency. Over the last three years, Mumias Constituency has received Kshs75 million through the CDF. Fifty per cent of the projects in Mumias are in the construction industry. These are classrooms, health facilities and other projects. I have organised youth groups to make bricks. But you will be surprised to hear that it is difficult for them to raise even Kshs3,000 to buy firewood to bake bricks. They have to get such money from an hon. Member. If we transform this bank, the rural people will easily access money. They will carry out activities like supplying bricks to construction projects. In that way, we shall be empowering them economically. I want to thank the Mover of this Motion for another Motion he brought to this House, which was also pro-the-poor. That Motion sought to transform the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) into a pension scheme. It is sad to note that the Motion was taken over by the Government. So far, we have not seen any action on it in this House. That is one area where I feel the Government has not served wananchi well. Having said that, I want to mention something to do with the current lending rates. Today, the big banks do not want to lend money to anybody. Examples abound where even teachers have been forced out of the big banks like the Barclays Bank of Kenya, the Standard Chartered Bank and the Kenya Commercial Bank. If you are a small saver, in this country, there is no financial institution which will listen to you. I wish that this morning this House approves what hon. Oloo- Aringo is trying to achieve for the common person. This Motion will save the common mwananchi from the shylocks of this country. In fact, to implement any small undertaking, the poor man has to go to these money lenders, who charge exorbitant interest rates. These people end up not making the slightest profit from their undertakings. So, this a very simple, straightforward Motion. We need not waste time in passing it. I want to say something about people who want to invest in this country. Two months ago, I was travelling out of this country. On the plane, I met some investors who were going to look for investment opportunities in other countries. They cited insecurity, poor infrastructure and the high cost of electricity as some of the problems in our country. With the kind of insecurity that exists in our rural areas and major towns, there will be no sound investments in this country. So, I call upon the Government to live up to its obligation of protecting and attracting investors by creating favourable investment opportunities in this country. With the presence of mercenaries in this country, we cannot hold out hope to would-be investors in this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I can see a lot of anxiety or enthusiasm among hon. Members who would like to speak on this Motion. I once again thank the Mover and wish to support the Motion. With those few remarks, I beg to second."
}