{"id":681750,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/681750/?format=json","text_counter":524,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Kubai Iringo","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":1574,"legal_name":"Cyprian Kubai Iringo","slug":"cyprian-kubai-iringo"},"content":"Despite the fact that this Bill has been there and has been weak in its own way, we have failed to control money laundering, betting and lotteries that have made our country poorer. We will go out of our way to approve these amendments, but what remains is for the people of Kenya to have integrity and morals which are beyond reproach for us to achieve this. We have enacted so many laws in this country which can only be implemented by us. If we are not going to live to the expectations of the laws, our efforts will be in futility. Having the DG is good because that gives more powers to the board. However, the integrity of that person must be beyond reproach. Members of the board must be thoroughly vetted and it must be procedural. We should appoint people who have the public interest at heart. We have very effective laws and a very strong Constitution, but we have gone out of our way to break those laws and do things in our own ways. We send people to arrest the suspects of money laundering, but they get into murky waters and proceed to swim in the same dirt. The same money they are following is used to silence them. At the end of the day, we impoverish our country. We end up with a country of a few multi-millionaires while millions of Kenyans are languishing in poverty without access to basic needs. Our courts of law are also failing us. A person who has stolen a goat, chicken or trespassed on somebody’s compound is jailed for seven years, yet since Independence, no person has been jailed for stealing money from the State coffers. Their files remain in court. We should have these laws in place so that they can be the guiding emblem to manage our resources and the Budget. We should have people of integrity who are working for the betterment of this country in these offices. Kenyans have a culture of worshiping thieves and those who engage in illegal businesses simply because they have money. The poor have to beg the rich yet they could be doing some formal businesses that earn them income, pay taxes to the Government and accumulate some savings for themselves. People go for those behind-the-doors businesses because that is where they get more money. This is quite unfortunate. I pray that these amendments give more clout, teeth and strength to the law. For heaven’s sake, let us implement the provisions of the Bill to the letter. With this Bill, we can change this country."}