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    "id": 678868,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/678868/?format=api",
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    "content": "Let me touch on a few issues that have been alluded to by Senators. One is on the issue of cash transfers. I sit in the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare as the Vice Chairperson and this is one of the issues that we have a problem with in terms of tracking and oversight of these monies. We took it upon ourselves as a Committee to use public participation as required in Article 10 of the Constitution to go to counties to find out what the issues are. We went to Kiambu and Nakuru counties. One issue that was constant was the fact that the elderly, even with the Kshs2,000 that they get, end up spending it on medical care. In fact, it is not enough. The object of the cash transfer was to afford the vulnerable people a meal. It is meant to go to food but it ends up on medical expenses. This tells you where the gap of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) comes in. If you have an NHIF card, then you can access outpatient services, most of which are needed by the elderly. There has been a very radical proposal that we were dealing with the Government taking up the contribution of NHIF of the over 65 year olds, in terms of their social responsibility as the Government. It definitely has quite a huge cash burden. However, we talk of billions of shillings that are lost – Kshs400 billion that is not accounted for in the country. So, we should explore this matter. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Sen. Kajwang talked about the issue of employers. Allow me to defend employers in this case. I am looking at a young person or group of young people who have employed a few others and are making, say, bricks or providing cleaning services to the Kenya Airways and their payment is delayed maybe by a day. Those who have Government tenders know that it happens a lot. Being a small organisation, even if your pay is delayed for a day, you should pay five times. What are we doing to these young organisations? I know, Sen. Kajwang, as a Member of the Young Parliamentarians Association, you will agree with me that most Kenyans and young people are employed in the white collar jobs and they are looking at chances to start these businesses and keep them afloat. So, I would really push and hope that we can see the sense of reduction in that sense. This is because the contribution is supposed to be done on the first day of the month according to the Act. How many, even in your businesses, can pay salaries on the first day? If you are late by two days, you pay five times. For me, that is the argument that, we must protect the small and medium enterprises, the youth owned businesses and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) whom we have given a chance to do business with the Government and other organisations. However, the payments are still not as good. In fact, they say that you will be paid within 30 days. So, if you delay by a day, you pay five times. This is too punitive for these young businesses. We cannot put them in the same category as the international businesses. That is why I still insist that, yes, we need a fine for deliberate non- contribution but we also need to encourage and give these incentives that you are talking about to these upcoming enterprises. The other issue is one which Sen. Kajwang has alluded to. In fact, when I put it on"
}