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{
    "id": 461753,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/461753/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 310,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ganya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 18,
        "legal_name": "Francis Chachu Ganya",
        "slug": "francis-ganya"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. From the outset, I want to say that I support the Bill. I really want to commend the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs for bringing this Bill very early in the 11th Parliament. Previously, we conveniently avoided passing it for many good reasons. We knew that we had sufficient time in terms of the constitutional deadlines but that time is no longer there. So, it is good that we pass it in good time, so that we can internalise it and live with it. This law will basically bring about accountability on campaign financing. It will ensure that candidates disclose the amount of money they will be using. They will not only be disclosing the amounts but also the sources of the funds. That is very important. It is the practice globally in all modern democracies like ours. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, politics is not a game for poor people. In 1992, I was a student in the USA. In that year, a billionaire was running for the presidency as an independent candidate. He was called Al Gore. A congressman quipped: “Here comes a billionaire to save us from millionaires.” The argument then was that congressmen were very rich but a billionaire had joined the league. To be honest, he did so well that in the subsequent election, his campaign was funded by the state and, in effect, denying the Republican Party a chance to win. That is how Clinton ended up in office. So, looking at the amount of money needed for campaign – money for the media and for hiring choppers to move around – you will appreciate that it is a very expensive affair. That is the truth of the matter. This Bill goes further to say that if you do not disclose the amount of funds you have and the sources of those funds, there are penalties, including being disqualified from running in that particular election. The beauty of this Bill is that it takes certain aspects into considerations. Our electoral areas are not uniform. I represent the largest constituency in Kenya. It is as large as Central, Nyanza, Western and Nairobi provinces put together. It is about 38,000 square kilometres, with a diameter of 800 kilometres. Even a poor man like me, whenever I campaign, I have to hire an aeroplane. That is the only way I can do it. Other hon. Members are lucky. My colleague from Kibra, who went to the same university that I went to in the USA, can actually address the entire of his constituency from his house, with the help of a very good public address system. It is that small. For me, even with an aircraft, it takes hours for me to get from one village to the next. So, this Bill, in some way, takes into consideration such geographical factors. It also takes into consideration the communication infrastructure in such electoral areas. It is very important. In some of our areas, people have no television sets. There is no electricity. So, basically, I have to move around by vehicles or by any other means. Not a single newspaper gets to North Horr. So, we have to look for other ways and means of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}