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{
    "id": 272991,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/272991/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 337,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kioni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 49,
        "legal_name": "Jeremiah Ngayu Kioni",
        "slug": "jeremiah-kioni"
    },
    "content": "I think it is also important that we encourage the banks to make monies from other transactions. Equity Bank was a leader in that front, where you make your profit from transactions as opposed to making profits from just charging interest rates. That is because in my opinion, when you just rely on interest rates to make money, it is evident that the bank is lazy in terms of formulation or thinking. The country has been engaged, by and large, with salaries of Members of Parliament. It is important that we also think about the salaries that are paid to CEOs. The money that CEOs are taking home in terms of payments and benefits must be contributing to the cost of money in this country. Even as we address the high salaries that may have been assigned to Members of Parliament as the public has been made to believe, it is also important to look at the salaries that are paid to those CEOs. Fine, it is in the private sector but those salaries are supported by the cost of transaction in the bank. I believe that also makes the cost of money in our country heavy, if you have to continue paying the salaries that they have awarded themselves. It is also important to pay attention to the fact that we have had many banks in this country, but the percentage of those who have continued to bank in this country only increased when Equity Bank came into place and, more so, when Mpesa was introduced. So, it is crucial that we ask ourselves even as we do the overseeing; what role have those banks played? I see there are quite some harsh recommendations on Equity as contained in 318 and 319. There was also an attempt to zero down on that particular bank when you look at the recommendations, but I think it is important that we look at all of them objectively and also encourage those banks that are there and available for Kenyans; banks that have taken banking to Kenyans there before like Equity--- Equity has even opened branches outside this country. It is important that even as we engage in it, we encourage them. Where they have gone wrong, we need to correct them. But we should not bring any bank to its knees because in so doing, we will not have helped in any way. The Departmental Committee on Finance, once again, needs to up, up their performance, so that banks are encouraged to ensure that the inflation and interest rates are such that they are not punitive. We may have to debate as to whether we should legislate on interest rates. We want to hear those who are schooled in that area informing us without unnecessary arguments, so that we also do not bring legislation to the Floor that will end up ensuring that only the corporate world continues enjoying the loan facilities, and those Kenyans from Ndaragua and elsewhere cannot access the money because their risks are higher. We need to know what the benefits are, and what the advantages and disadvantages of legislating on interest rates are. That is because we want the ordinary Kenyans to continue being able to access that money. The money must also be affordable because it hurts when you go back to the constituencies and you find women who borrowed through the Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) or other such facilities losing mabatis, blankets and such other household items just because they borrowed, but cannot repay because of the very high interest rates."
}