HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 382212,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/382212/?format=api",
"text_counter": 109,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Ongoro",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 125,
"legal_name": "Elizabeth Ongoro Masha",
"slug": "elizabeth-ongoro"
},
"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also rise to support this Motion. I want to state that the way the State and its various agencies act when somebody retires and wants his or her benefits, is quite baffling. In my opinion, from the day when somebody is employed, that person’s file is activated with all the required documents, including the next of kin and all the information that could be required. I would think that from that day the State already knows that this person has been employed at this age and, therefore, after five years, 10 or 20 years, he will retire. So, in my opinion, the State could from time to time update that person’s file, especially when it is one year, six months, three months, one month or five days to retirement. It should package that person’s benefits in such a way that he or she only needs to file, then the people employed in that agency should actually have worked on his or her file for the whole time prior to retirement. So, the person should just be given an easy time having served the Government through the various State agencies to, at least, go home smiling and not spent the rest of his life chasing benefits. If somebody has been working continuously for 20 years or 30 years and he spends another five or seven years looking for pension, it is not fair. In most cases, people die even before accessing their benefits. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is said that all that ends well is good enough. In most cases, people retire just at the peak of their lives when most of their children are in college. That person wants to go back home and settle, to start income generating activities. Therefore, one needs to be given his benefits in time, so that he or she does not get a mental breakdown and die without ever accessing what he or she was entitled to. It is in order now that we are decentralizing everything under the devolved system of governance, that we also decentralize this function. It makes no sense at all for people to travel from the various counties to one county which is Nairobi to process their pension. Nairobi is just a county like all the other 46 counties. I do not understand why people should still be travelling from their own counties to the county that is called Nairobi to process their benefits. This process must now be decentralized to their counties so that everybody just moves from every part of their county to the headquarters of their county to be sorted out regardless and in spite of where one was employed. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, apart from that, I want to add my voice to those who have spoken before me and, especially the Chair who stated that what we sometimes call retirement benefits is really paltry. I do not know what to call it. If you are paying 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."
}