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{
    "id": 570533,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/570533/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 213,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kangara",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12543,
        "legal_name": "Benson Mutura Kangara",
        "slug": "benson-mutura-kangara"
    },
    "content": "parcels of lands. This time, with the new registration and also because there is that provision of transition, we will have to see who these directors are. We have had foreign companies come here, are registered in a dubious way, they do business with Kenya and once they get money, off they go. This is the right time to deal with corruption, because we are not going to allow those kinds of things. The good aspect in this Bill is the one-man company. This is what normally happens in Kenya only that because of the bureaucracy that was initially there, you had to go and get some other entities and ask them to sign. In the mega corruption scandals, we have found blue chip companies which have home employees like drivers as their directors. When these employees are questioned, they have no idea that they are directors of some companies. We have seen mysterious killings day in day out in the land-buying companies. If you look keenly, you will notice that it is because of the way the companies are run. There was a lot of disconnect. Directors were working and maybe the only time they could be questioned was during the annual general meetings (AGMs). On the issue of AGM, this Bill has brought in the digital aspect and even simplified how AGMs should be conducted. It is not necessary that we have to call all the members to come to the AGM at a specific date. They can do it digitally like through skype. That way, they will lower the costs and overheads can translate into benefits to shareholders. The issue of mergers has also been looked into by this Bill. It has been a pity that at times, even employees just read in the newspapers that their company has been merged with another. Their interests are not well protected. This time round, we have put it clearly that employees are also stakeholders in companies. If there are any buyouts, employees’ interests have to be looked into. It has to be done in a way that is civil and with a human face. We have done a lot of public participation. We got a lot of insight and useful information from most of our experts. It is also worth noting that when this Companies Bill started being drafted in the year 2000, there were people who thought that foreigners could do it better. The job was given to a consultant. Unfortunately, the draft that the consultant brought was even worse. So, we had to revert to our own local experts to modernise and give it a Kenyan face, so that we could easily understand it. The language is quite good. It is very easy and simple. Everybody can read it. I really want to thank our lawyers in that committee. They did a lot of work which was not compromised. If you go further, you will see other entities which are brought in like lawyers and even the Certified Public Accountants and Certified Public Secretaries. They also have their provisions in this Bill. In a nutshell, the Government is also going to raise a lot of revenue because now people will do business in a very formal and decent way and will file returns easily. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}