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{
    "id": 661505,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/661505/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 394,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Lati",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2762,
        "legal_name": "Jonathan Lelelit Lati",
        "slug": "jonathan-lelelit-lati"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support the Motion. The only thing that we should look at as a country when we want to borrow is not the amount that we are borrowing, but the return on investment (ROI) from the loan. That is the only viable benchmark in terms of borrowing. In this case, if we were borrowing this money to put it into some social programme, I would ask whether it really makes sense because the financial ROI could be nothing. While we are not only trying to compete with the world, but also within the East African region in terms of transportation and port services, we can only look at the ROI on this project. It is obvious. You do not have to be a mathematician. Kenya is not the only country that borders the Indian Ocean. We are not the only ones who can provide port services. We have already seen countries like Uganda and Rwanda moving to Tanzania. That competition alone should open our eyes to develop our infrastructure so that competitively, we become the best port in the world. I have not heard anybody talk about the investment returns of this project being low or bad. I have only seen people who are scared of borrowing. It can only be bad if it does not return the investment. In a capital project like this one, it is obvious that we have returns which are guaranteed almost as the loan. It also provides a horizontal integration to other investment projects that we are undertaking. The only way a railway line can be viable for our country is if it can be horizontally integrated with the Port of Mombasa, so that we can move goods to the inland and other countries. Without that, the SGR that we are constructing will probably mean nothing. Let us think harder because this is not a lot of money in terms of the use we are going to put it into. The Government of Japan is lending us this money as a zero-interested loan. You can easily “Google” and look for terms of 30-years bond. This is similar to such a bond. Look at the kinds of interests at which money is being lent in the market. In this case, we are talking about 0.11 per cent. It is not even a percentage of something or half a percentage. It is 11 points of a percentage. The only thing that we have to take care of, because the loan will be repaid in Japanese Yens, is to manage our exchange rate regime. It is up to us, as Kenyans, to make sure that we buy less Japanese cars. The only thing that can make the interest rates hit us is if we continue buying lots and lots of Japanese cars. Obviously, we need Yens to buy cars and the demand for the Yen will be high. That will make the exchange rate high. That is what we have to manage. Otherwise, this is a free loan. No country can develop without developing her infrastructure. If you go back into history, the United States of America is what it is today because of the events after the World War II. After the war, America got into the famous “high interstate highways”. That made sure that the East Coast and the West Coast are connected. It made sure that goods could be moved 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."
}