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{
    "id": 671849,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/671849/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 359,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "our history and that of India, you will realise that we buy machinery and pharmaceuticals worth US$2.5 billion each year, yet they only buy from us soda ash, tea and vegetables worth Kshs200 million. When you look at that trade imbalance, you realize that we, as leaders, need to do something until it gets to a time where the President of Kenya will also visit a European nation that we have balanced trading relations with. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the only way we can achieve such a vision for our country is by enacting such legislation that promotes the lowest level of businesses. People should learn that they cannot just wake up one day and make a million. They have to grow from Kshs5, Kshs10, Kshs100 to thousands, hundreds of thousand shillings and then get to the millions league. This is what we should teach them. I think about many of the people who have been left behind. In my county, there are stone traders in Kedowa. We need to consider such small traders who may not consider themselves to be business people. We need also to consider the young touts in bus stages like Kapsoit and Premier in Kericho, who fill up the matatus and buses. They need to understand that the matatus and buses are their offices and their business. We should provide a legislation that will aid these young men and women who engage in that economic activity. They should know that there are people who recognize their trade. The officers from the county governments should not harass them. If anything, they should provide legislation and avenues to pay tax levies that need to be paid, so that the small businessmen can engage in proper economic activities. That is the only way we will build a greater nation. We read from history about some of the great businesses that we have today, for example, Apple and Samsung. These organisations begun as micro institutions many years ago, but today they control the economies of the world. Through this small amendment, a mama mboga in Homa Bay County, where Sen. M. Kajwang comes from, could get recognition, access to capital and good training. She could then grow her business and be one of the largest exporters of vegetables to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries. However, she does not know that this is possible because nobody holds her hand. I look back to the years when I was starting business. I realised that access to credit was not the biggest struggle that I had at the opportune moment. What I lacked was someone who could show me the direction that I needed to pursue. This is what we are now doing to the boda boda riders, fishermen, and sand harvesters, among others. This amendment will hold their hands and give them a direction. That is the only way we can run away from the social ills that are bedeviling our country. We have an educated lot of young people who cannot humble themselves and realise that one can become a graduate and still engage in fish trade, starting from Kshs500 to Kshs1,000 for their enterprise. In conclusion, what I like about this amendment is where we propose the devolvement of the authority to the county level. I do not understand why to date, many county governments cannot replicate the institutions like the Youth and Women Enterprise Funds at the grassroots level despite the colossal amount of funds that we send to the counties. What is interesting with the governors is their determination to construct roads and culverts because that is how they earn their kickbacks. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}