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{
    "id": 515404,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/515404/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 267,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 193,
        "legal_name": "Peter Anyang' Nyong'o",
        "slug": "peter-nyongo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. This Bill deals with public collection. A harambee is just one of the routes of public collection. One of the reasons we are targeting harambees is because there has been tremendous abuse of the spirit of public collection through volunteerism and mutual help. If anything, it has metamorphosed into many forms of public collection of funds which definitely does not embrace the spirit of volunteerism and mutual help. Therefore, we need to do something to save the spirit of public collection, mutual help and volunteerism in this country. This Bill hopes to do that so that society does not begin to feel that when people are engaged in mutual help, they are engaged in a form of help which is very exploitative and extortionist. Former President Kibaki, during his tenure, did not conduct any harambee. However, during the ten years of his Presidency, including the five year term that he was the Co-principal with Raila Amolo Odinga, it is seen as a period in Kenyan history which resulted in tremendous expansion of education and economic growth which continues until today. This period of Kenya’s history is only comparable to the first ten years after Independence when, as we can remember, harambee was voluntary and was confined to targeted social service or welfare programmes like health and education. As Senators observe, harambees have gone haywire to include people outsourcing their private responsibilities to the public. I think Sen. Mutahi Kagwe pointed out that very clearly. We should, therefore, face these issues squarely and not be governed by the fear of leaving the harambees. We should not also have a fear to governing effectively the social welfare that is run in this country. Being governed by fear leads us to make irrational decisions. Some Senators expressed fears that without harambees they do not know how Kenya will move. Harambees have distorted the spirit of mutual help and we should get rid of it in the form in which it takes so that we have a formal public collection of funds which is governed properly like the Koigi Wamwere Report pointed out during the NARC Government. This is a Report that was initiated when Sen. Kiraitu Mutungi was the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs. Our neighbours, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, are not governed by harambees at all. Rwanda rose from its ashes from years of internal conflict to establish a very prosperous society in which social welfare is very well funded by the State. Tanzania started the philosophy of Ujamaa, which means that we all come together in mutual help and it has continued. Although Ujamaa is not as emphatic in Tanzania as it was before, they do not have harambees; neither do our neighbours, Uganda and Ethiopia. But if you 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."
}