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{
    "id": 64386,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/64386/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 139,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Raila",
    "speaker_title": "The Prime Minister",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 195,
        "legal_name": "Raila Amolo Odinga",
        "slug": "raila-odinga"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will take one question at a time. I agree with the hon. Member that there can sometimes be negative competition. In other words, companies can actually compete themselves out of business. It is also accepted worldwide that competition is healthy. When we had a monopoly, the cost of telephone services was too high. Remember that at one time, just to get a telephone set cost as much as Kshs120,000. When the market was liberalized, the cost came down and it is now just about Kshs2,000 or less. So, the cost of communication needs to be made affordable to as many people as possible. That is exactly what is happening. We have one of the highest penetration rates in the world. Close to 20 million people have mobile telephone sets. What has been a problem is the cost. People make fewer calls because they cannot afford them. If the costs are lowered, the volumes will increase and the economy will benefit. That is the reason why we have said that we have no intention to interfere with this competition. There are call centres which are outside the country, but there are others which are in the country. Whereas we have reduced those that employ directly, these services are outsourced and more jobs are generally created within the economy. That will help us to deal with the issue of unemployment."
}