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{
    "id": 644512,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/644512/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 80,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Tongi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2611,
        "legal_name": "Richard Nyagaka Tongi",
        "slug": "richard-nyagaka-tongi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for the opportunity to speak on this good Bill that is meant to make a difference on how we manage our finances in our country. At the end of the day, we do not remember how we used the money, but how we misused the money that we borrowed from banks. Having been in the bank for most part of my working life, I will tell you from experience that one of the challenges we have as a country is that we have not inculcated a culture of finance management in our people. People do not differentiate between the borrowed money and the money that is available for family use or money they can use without having to think twice on how it is going to be refunded. The culture is what we need to inculcate in our people because we cannot develop unless we borrow from banks. What do we do with the money we have borrowed from banks? Most of the times, we confuse that money with our money and borrow without having any project in mind to invest in, but just to have a feel good effect that we have money in the account, which is not meant for anything. I dare say that if you fail to plan, you are preparing to fail. That has been the case most of the time. From the outset, I oppose the idea of controlling bank interest rates for the simple reason that banks are in business and people borrow from banks on their own volition. No one is under pressure or at gun point to borrow money from a bank. You borrow because you want to meet a need. If you do not use that money wisely, you cannot turn back and use a law to mismanage business people who have invested their resources in the bank business to ensure it generates income for the country. Hon. Deputy Speaker, in the recent past, we have gone through challenges as a country one of them being perceptions. It is perceptions that have killed the three major banks. I dare say that Chase Bank would not have gone under were if not for the social media. Bloggers, in their busy schedule or lack of it, have made it a business to badmouth strong institutions without thinking of the repercussions that their actions bring along. No bank in the world can stand a run however big it is even if it is controlling 50 per cent of the borrowed money or financial requirements in that country. If there was a run in this country or elsewhere in the world, then there is no bank that can stand that. As lawmakers, we should pass a law that has serious penalties to deal with bloggers who are passing messages in the social media to the effect that bank “X” and “Y” are in trouble without substantiating how the trouble has come about, thus putting those banks and the hard-earned money of Kenyans into risk. Banks cannot stand the pressure when people start withdrawing money from their accounts. I oppose this Bill. I oppose the idea of controlling interest rates because I do not think it is in the best interest of the country to do that. We should do it differently by educating our people to know how to use money borrowed from banks wisely. Our economy cannot grow unless banks are supported to grow, so that they can have more resources and money to support the people who borrow from these institutions. 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."
}