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{
    "id": 575959,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/575959/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 97,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kangara",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12543,
        "legal_name": "Benson Mutura Kangara",
        "slug": "benson-mutura-kangara"
    },
    "content": "public/private entities and even private entities. For a long time, the Government used to check on companies that were doing well in the area of paying taxes. But it is also now a Government initiative and business to know the challenges that the business community is facing. Sometimes, they have challenges which are not of their own making. They face difficulties. This Bill is trying to harmonize all those issues to see that everybody is comfortable. The area of ease of doing business is put to the very basic. There is the issue of professional bodies which have been incorporated in this. Previously, no professional bodies were involved. The insolvency practitioners’ sole mandate will be to see that companies that have gone under are up and running. Initially, liquidators would go to a company and pay themselves with the first money that they make. That will be a thing of the past and the professionals will be paid a percentage based on what they have done. The people who will have lost and gone through a lot of suffering will also be catered for. There have been issues of unforeseen challenges here in Kenya, where we have been hit by acts of nature and terrorism. These are situations that are not insured. Many people have suffered from such acts. For instance, at the Westgate attack, even the building was destroyed and people suffered huge losses. The common mwananchi, especially those who ran shops at the mall were not compensated. If they were to be compensated, there is no law to govern that kind of transition. In a nutshell, the Government should feel the agony and the pain that people go through. For example, when a matatu is hit by a grenade or a bomb, the Government just tows the wreckage to the police station. The owner of the matatu might have taken a loan, for instance, and his source of livelihood is destroyed. The bank will pursue him to repay the loan. He will not get his vehicle back because the police tell him that they are doing forensic investigation which takes forever. The onus is on the Government to support that person because he could not have prevented the loss. The Government should support people to do business. They should not fear. They should know that the Government is there to facilitate them to do business and restore them to where they were before the loss. There are other areas where people have really suffered, especially people who had invested in South Sudan. The Government was at the forefront in encouraging Kenyans to go and invest in that country. People are really suffering. They were millionaires in South Sudan, but paupers here in Kenya. I take the case of Jetlink, which went under not because of mismanagement but because they had accumulated a lot of South Sudanese Pounds which are non-convertible anywhere. When it comes to such issues, who should the people go to? That currency is non-convertible elsewhere and yet, back home you are repaying loans and you are being pursued by other entities. The South Sudan Pounds are non-transferable. You cannot convert South Sudan Pounds to US dollars. The Government has to come in and bridge that gap because the common mwananchi will not have the muscle to talk when it comes to inter- governmental relationships. There are other entities which have been bailed out by the Government namely, Uchumi, National Bank of Kenya (NBK), Mumias Sugar Company and even Kenya Airways (KQ). However, the Government has bailed out those institutions not based on any law, but as a matter of concern. The Companies and Insolvency Legislation (Consequential Amendments) Bill and those other laws that we are going to come up with will help to bring sanity. Even the Government has a moral authority to come in and assist companies and ensure that people can do business. 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."
}