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{
    "id": 692714,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/692714/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 216,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Baiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 8,
        "legal_name": "Peter Njoroge Baiya",
        "slug": "peter-baiya"
    },
    "content": "of County Assembly or any other public officer. We know why we employ those people. They have very clear functions outlined in various pieces of legislation and the Constitution. In the case of Members of Parliament, it is not to use their salaries to support their constituents because their salaries are inadequate. It is to develop policies, programmes and procedures that will help the country overcome poverty, provide medical healthcare and support those programmes such that the contribution of Harambee becomes less. When you have a situation where a Member of Parliament or MCA elevates himself to be the main contributor, the question arises: Where do you get this money? We have seen a culture where a person uses the resources available to the office and divert them from being public resources. Those resources become available to him or her as a person to donate as Harambee contribution. The problem with that kind of political system is that it is very retrogressive. It seeks to perpetuate poverty so that the givers can become the benefactors and, therefore, continue to get support. We would want a country where we have solved the problem of poverty so that we do not have to contribute to Harambees . Even if one intended to contribute to all the funerals in the constituency, the amount required cannot come from the individual’s pocket or lawfully generated resources. It therefore begs the question: Where do you get the resources that are far above your regular and normal income to donate? Therefore, for us to contribute to good leadership in this country and to ensure that leadership is not based on how deep your pockets are but is based on your ability to generate proper policy and you are able to contribute positively towards helping alleviation of poverty and problems, we should control contributions in Harambees . That is why the principles of this legislative proposal are noble and ought to be supported, of course, with relevant amendments. We want to know those who give whether they are also able to contribute in terms of taxation for national development through paying taxes. For instance, if you were to look at some of the key contributors in this country, you will find they are the same people who have been responsible for the failure of very critical programmes that would be very helpful to this country. Now that we are devolving resources to the counties, we are opening a Pandora’s Box for those who are in charge of public resources to also dish them out through"
}