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{
    "id": 465388,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/465388/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 347,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Aden",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 15,
        "legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
        "slug": "aden-duale"
    },
    "content": "The second important thing that this particular amendment Bill seeks to do is bringing integrity to the insurance industry. As pointed out by other hon. Members, there has been, in this country, the problem of insurance companies operating for a few years and then disappearing with a lot of money of the people who have bought policies and seriously exposing not only the interests of the clients who lose but also seriously denting the integrity of the insurance sector in our country. What we know is that insurance plays an important role in the development of any economy. Insurance creates the environment needed for investors to gather the courage to engage in business, both locally and internationally while aware that their risks are covered. This gives them the ability to do more business, which is what we need in this economy. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, on the same note, one of the very important things that foreign investors look at before entering a new market is the insurance environment. As this Bill seeks to do, if the insurance industry in this country is protected and enhanced, our economy will have the advantage of foreign investors coming to do business in our country. That will indeed bring the much needed foreign investment into our country. The second point I want to speak to, concerning this particular Bill, is the opening up of the East African Community, which is most welcome. I must say that much as there could be some countries within the East African Community that may not be having the same appetite of movement towards a full integration of our economies, I must say that Kenya, being the largest economy in this particular region, will gain the most from the opening up of the East African market. For that reason, there is no need for us to fear and say that we should not be the ones to make the first step and wait for others to come and accept the same. We must first of all take the first step and encourage others to follow suit. Because of the kind of attraction that our insurance will have by creating openings, indeed, the countries that are around us will also see the sense in opening their markets especially in this industry as Kenya has done. Finally, the environment of doing business should be made much easier so that we can attract more capital in this country. Ease of getting business licence in our country still requires improvement. We need to ensure that we make it easy for foreign investors to get licences. This happens in Rwanda where business licences can be got very easily in a few days time. This creates a lot of attraction for the foreign investors to come into the country. It is also important to put laws in place like the one we are passing today to ensure that the integrity of every sector of our economy is well regulated so that we can enhance integrity. We need to improve the situation around security and corruption in this country for us to grow our economy. The kind of insecurity that Kenya has found itself in, in the last few weeks is something that will very easily scare away our investors. I join my fellow Kenyans in sending an appeal to foreign investors and businessmen that the situation that befell us last week is not exceptional to us. It happened in New York, New Delhi and many other cities of the world which are far more advanced in terms of security apparatus. It was an unfortunate event and Kenya must not be treated as an unsafe place for investment simply because of the incident that took place. We welcome all of them. This House will take the lead in ensuring that proper controls are put in place 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."
}