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{
    "id": 728672,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/728672/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 145,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Henry Rotich",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13142,
        "legal_name": "Henry Rotich",
        "slug": "henry-rotich"
    },
    "content": "products with the conventional financial products. In addition, I shall shortly be issuing regulations to facilitate development of Takaful Retirement Benefits Schemes in Kenya. The insurance industry in Kenya is restructuring into groups to enhance their capital base as well as take advantage of economies of scale and maximise on the expertise which is scarce. Currently, there are more than ten such insurance groups operating in Kenya, and there is no sufficient legal and regulatory framework to ensure effective supervision. This implies that their inter-related risks are not monitored. In this regard, I propose to amend the Insurance Act to enhance supervision of insurance groups in Kenya and ensure financial stability in the sector. Annual licensing of financial institutions is time consuming and is no longer necessary in this era of risk-based supervision. Accordingly, the Government amended the Banking Act in 2015 to provide for perpetual licensing. In 2016, the same was extended to institutions licensed by the Retirement Benefits Authority. In this regard, I propose to amend the Insurance Act to further provide for perpetual licensing of insurers. However, the intermediaries such as insurance brokers and loss assessors, among others will continue to be issued with annual licensing. With our economy increasingly becoming dynamic, some employers are opting to operate under a common umbrella retirement benefits scheme that provides retirement benefits to their employees unlike the current standalone retirement benefit schemes provided by employers for their own employees. A scheme covering employees from several employers has unique features that differ from ordinary occupational schemes and therefore needs a proper legal framework to regulate its operations. In this regard, the Umbrella Retirement Benefits Scheme Regulations have been prepared to govern the operations of these types of schemes. Hon. Speaker, Kenya is widely known for innovation in financial inclusion. Indeed, last year, Mr. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and co-financier of the social networking site Facebook visited Kenya to meet with entrepreneurs and developers and learn how our M-Pesa works, and how it has transformed the lives of ordinary Kenyans. Well, we have done it again! Last week, I launched a special limited offer of the M-Akiba bond worth Kshs150 million. This is a retail bond issued by the Government of Kenya and can be bought and sold via the mobile phone platform. The tax-free M-Akiba bond aims at promoting a savings and investment culture by Kenyans with a minimum investment amount of Kshs3,000 and a maximum investment amount of Kshs140,000 per day. Now “Wanjiku” will be able to invest her Kshs3,000 or above, with no risk to her money and at higher interest rates than those offered by banks. I, therefore, invite all Kenyans to invest in the bond, whose money will be used to fund infrastructure projects to further develop our country and move towards achieving our Vision 2030 development goals. Hon. Speaker, allow me to report that as of this morning a total of 68,399 Kenyans had registered with total buys of Kshs79 million. This is more than half of the figure on offer of Kshs150 million within just one week of the launch. So, for those who have not registered and are yet to buy, hurry up. Registering and investing is as simple as dialling *889#. This new savings innovation is the first of its kind in the world, and to give it the full weight it deserves, His Excellency the President will launch the main M-Akiba bond with an offer of Kshs4.85 billion in June, this year. I invite all of you to attend this historic occasion."
}