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{
    "id": 492317,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/492317/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 253,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wandayi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2960,
        "legal_name": "James Opiyo Wandayi",
        "slug": "james-opiyo-wandayi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I wish to lend my support to this Motion, with conditions. Whereas I agree in principle that we need to enable our people of all cadres to access affordable funds, there is a trend of proliferation of funds that has emerged. In my view, this trend is not sustainable. What we needed to have done is to find a mechanism of harmonising the many existing funds or creating a single mega fund to take care of the diverse interests in the country. It is also important to underscore the fact that, in an ideal situation, the Government should be playing its primary role of creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, if systems were working perfectly well the Government would have created an enabling environment for people do business and access funds and loans from financial institutions to carry out their businesses in a normal way. But that is not the situation as we speak because there is an imbalanced situation in which the Government is competing for loans with the private sector and private entrepreneurs. Therefore, the Government has contributed to this kind of situation which we find ourselves in, where everybody is clamouring for funds which may not be adequate. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, even if we succeeded in creating one mega fund to take care of all these interests, there is an issue of devolution or administration of these funds. My view is that such funds needed to have been devolved as much as possible and to the lowest level possible. Of course, the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) is a very good model. If you look at the case of Uwezo Fund, which we are trying to implement as we speak; it is somewhat devolved to the constituencies, but in real sense you find that the bulk of the administrative work is done in Nairobi. Indeed, even funds for operation and administration of Uwezo Fund are held in Nairobi. We do not even know the process of selecting people who are going to train groups to access these funds. They are here in Nairobi and everything else is done in Nairobi. Therefore, 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."
}