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{
    "id": 381709,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/381709/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 56,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "We need a law to rationalize the harambee system. The team that Prof. Anyang’- Nyong’o has put in place is good. I encourage him to put in a few more lawyers because we have several of them in this House who can help. However, I also know that the Clerk’s Office can assist. I would have loved to see the Chairman of the Devolution Committee appearing in this Committee. Professor, I would not only want you to look at harambees for the sake of looking at harambees. However, devolution is a supplement for harambees. Some of the things that we do can now be done by the use of the devolved resources in the counties. You may also recall the abuses that used to go on when people turn up in harambee and very openly display fabulous wealth. Some even started being called Bwana Maendeleo because of the amount of money they were contributing. However, no one was obligated to disclose who their undisclosed friends were. In many jurisdictions, when you say that you have contributed money from you and others, you are obligated to disclose who the others are. It is not just about you. If, for example, you write a cheque from your account, this is different. However, when you see people carrying money obscenely in millions - we have seen people contributing Kshs5 million in cash at harambees – and yet when you look at their backgrounds, they have not handled any offices, not even as clerks in their lives. They have positions of advantage. They roam around and collect money from citizens and go to make names with it. During the last Parliament, you may recall that we passed a law to close harambees during the campaign period. This really helped the Members of this House and the other House. What happens is that as soon as you go into an electoral process, every single church holds a harambee and everybody else wants money from an aspiring Member who is campaigning. Your fate is intrinsically tied to this process. You either contribute or win elections or you do not contribute and are shown the door. That law assisted us quite a bit. In fact, I remember one person who was campaigning in my county. In every meeting, he used to open by saying; “I am sure you are fully aware that contributions have been banned.” He would then proceed to make his political statements to foreclose any requests for any money from him either in way of harambee or any other way. People went through a very good campaign. I want to add to what Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o said that an evaluation on how much the harambee system has and continues to play in the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}