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{
    "id": 697951,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/697951/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 29,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ochieng",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2955,
        "legal_name": "David Ouma Ochieng'",
        "slug": "david-ouma-ochieng"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. As you are aware, corporate governance is one of the most important things that we need to be talking about in this century. Corporate governance is not an end in itself, but it is a means to support the way public and private entities are run. I am moving this Bill at a time when just last week we had to adjourn the House to discuss the happenings at the Kenya Airways. We have seen how the National Youth Service (NYS) has been managed. We have seen how so many private and public entities like the Mumias Sugar have been managed. We have seen companies going down largely because of the way they have been managed in the corporate sense. This Bill is supposed to help establish an institutional framework for building the capacity of those who want to be directors in either public or private entities. Last year, we passed new company laws that gave companies requirements on how to operate in this country. We have allowed the market to regulate how we appoint directors, who trains them and whether they report to anybody. We have allowed the market to regulate that and take care of anything wrong that happens there. You realise that if we, as a country, do not invest in training, building capacity and continually developing skills of the persons who manage our public and private entities, we may not go very far, especially in a country where we have a lot of corruption. We have hoped that criminalising corruption and everything wrong will help us. It has not helped so much. There is need for a soft approach in the way we deal with how we run our public affairs and the affairs of companies that are publicly listed. This Bill is going to help us to create the Institute of Directors in this country. The body will help inculcate the ethos and principles of good governance, which include having effective leadership of boards and having boards that are capable and which have a mixture of skills, experience and independence to enable members to discharge their duties and responsibilities effectively. If passed, this Bill will encourage accountability, being able to communicate to the companies’ shareholders at regular intervals and fair and balanced understanding as to how companies are supposed to achieve their businesses. If we pass this Bill, we will encourage sustainability of our public listed companies and parastatals. 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."
}