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"content": "listed to be exempted are not charities. In fact, I am a Catholic. One of the richest institutions in the world is the Catholic Church. They control billions and, probably trillions of dollars. You have seen that if you go to Ngong’ town today, the Pentecostal Church of Eastern Africa (PCEA) has built a huge mall, the size of Nakumatt Junction. They are no longer custodians of our souls and our problems, but they are in business. Some churches own some of the best and most expensive schools in this country. These are businesses. We pay when we take children there. So, if they are going to compete with the ordinary citizen for advertisement space, to attract attention and business, they must pay for it. They should not be exempted. Therefore, I want to encourage Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., that religious, educational, cultural and other institutions should be treated equally. However, if it is a mere signage showing that there is a Catholic Church around the corner or a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses or a Mosque, we should not ask them to pay. But if, for example, it is a church belonging to Kanyari or some of these people who have turned church into commercial enterprises, an evaluation should be done and they should be asked to pay. Madam Temporary Speaker, if it is a signage of a school run by a church, they must pay. If it is a signage of a recreational centre like Bomas of Kenya - every time you go there, it is as expensive as going to Intercontinental Hotel - they must pay because they must generate revenue for the authorities to give them services. If it is a medical institution, if it is a signage to say that this is Kenyatta National Hospital, we can understand. But if it is Nairobi Hospital or these other hospitals where they make big money, they should not be exempted. I hope the sponsor of the Bill finds sense in what I am saying. Clause 3 (e) says:- “Notices or signs displayed on any premises in order to advertise the fact that a person, partnership or company is carrying out a profession, business or trade of those premises”. Madam Temporary Speaker, this again depends on what we are talking about because if on a building you put a huge sign that you are running a house of comfort or a hotel where, like I have seen in some restaurants in town saying that they serve delicious meals and the answer is on the plate - if we have those kinds of advertisements, they are attracting business and they must pay for it. If you have written on the wall of your building that in your restaurant you serve delicious food and the answer is on the plate, they should pay for that and many other similar things. I believe Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., being from the legal background is thinking that lawyers putting a small sign outside a building or writing on a building: “Attorneys at law, Mutula Kilonzo and Co. Advocates”, they should not pay, that is different. However, where people are carrying out cash business on a daily basis, they should pay. Madam Temporary Speaker, again, you should find a qualification on who benefits from Clause 3(e). Clause 3(g) says:- “To advertise products, goods or services sold by persons with premises of sports, cultural or social arena on a regular basis or to advertise any products, The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}