Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 644562,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/644562/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 130,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ababu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 108,
        "legal_name": "Ababu Tawfiq Pius Namwamba",
        "slug": "ababu-namwamba"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Of course, I want to support this Bill and commend Hon. Njomo. It has been a long journey in an attempt to clean up the banking arena and make the whole issue of interest rates fair. In this respect, we need to pay homage and congratulate previous efforts that have attempted to deal with this issue. In this regard, when the history of this country is written, the area of representation called Gem will always be inscribed in the history of this House with golden letters. The former Member of Parliament for that constituency, Hon. Joe Donde, and later on the indefatigable Deputy Leader of the Minority Party in this House today and Member of Parliament for Gem Constituency, Hon. Jakoyo Midiwo, right from the 10th Parliament to this 11th Parliament, have championed this course as real warriors. It is for the best interests of the people. Even as we debate this Bill, we need to ask ourselves how far we have gone in implementing the efforts that we have attempted. It must prick our conscience for us to make a fresh determination. It is pointless to pass impressive pieces of legislation in this House if they amount to nothing and do not correct the mischief that is intended to be corrected by the legislation. Legislation is not supposed to be in vain. It is intended to correct mischief or respond to a certain need of the public. As we debate this Bill, may we also use the opportunity to ask some hard questions? As we raise issues with the CBK and her Governor today, we must ask the question: “How come the CBK is running without a fully-fledged board for a whole year since this Governor was appointed?” Mr. Mohamed Nyaoga, who is the chairperson of the Board of the CBK, is basically operating as a one-man board. Why has the CBK not been afforded the necessary tools of having a full board that can take responsibility for some of the decisions we are questioning? The Government must come out clearly and tell the country why the CBK does not have a board? What is the reason? Is somebody or certain forces somewhere keen on taking advantage of that lacuna in the governance and administrative arrangement at the CBK by ensuring that we do not have a board at the bank ad infinitum? The other question we must ask is the saturation of banks in this economy. We are wondering why we have this conflagration at the moment. For instance, compare this economy to that of South Africa, this economy has 42 or 43 banks for a population of just over 40 million. Compare this with the South African economy, which is several times larger than ours, yet it has 14 or 15 banks. Why do we have this proliferation of banks in this economy? Even as we question the ability of the CBK to manage this sector, we must also question the effectiveness, the rationale and the logic of having 42 banks in an economy this size which is absolutely unsustainable and unnecessary. The banking sector is the backbone of any economy. This is a sector that must be lean, professional, effective and logical. Ultimately, as we grapple with these issues, those responsible for the challenges we face today, must face the full force of the law. We have previously seen challenges such as these going unpunished. This is an opportunity for the current CBK Governor to make it clear that it is no longer business as usual. It will now be business unusual. I am urging this House, rather than throw stones at the CBK Governor, to support this Governor and ensure that the Government gives him a full board to enable him execute his mandate as Governor of the CBK. 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."
}