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{
    "id": 736636,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/736636/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 269,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Gikaria",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2489,
        "legal_name": "David Gikaria",
        "slug": "david-gikaria"
    },
    "content": "about food security and lack of unga, and blaming the Government and things like that. It is up to us, as leaders in this country, to try and come up with measures to address these issues. Just the other day, we passed a law and created a Disaster Management Authority, whose functions include addressing most of these issues. I hope they are going to borrow a lot from what Hon. Gumbo has just alluded to. The other day I visited Nyanza region to attend the burial of the late mother to Hon. Gideon Ochanda and I looked at some very fertile pieces of land in that area which did not have a lot of vegetation. I asked myself many questions. I wondered what happens to such land. The land was just idle. No cultivation was going on despite the fact that people had no food. I wondered what could be happening. I hope this is what Hon. Gumbo will do when he becomes the Governor of Siaya County. County governments need not just look upon the national Government to address some of these issues. They need to come up with programmes and policies to address these issues and ensure that their residents are economically and socially empowered. Whatever I had in mind about this issue, Hon. Gumbo has just made it very clear. I totally support what Hon. Gumbo has said. Our Constitution is very clear regarding different religions. This Bill tries to address some of the Islamic laws that have always been forgotten in the finance sector. I totally agree that these laws need to be brought onboard so that Muslims can feel part and parcel of this Republic. Regarding betting, this has been discussed very many times. As a sports person, I know it is not a very good thing if you looked at it from the time the Budget Statement was read. If the proceeds of betting will be taxed at 50 per cent taxation and this will be used to improve sporting facilities across the country, then, I totally support it. I hope the National Treasury will not collect the money and channel it to other areas of expenditure. The CS made it very clear that whatever they are going to collect will go towards improving sport talents in this country. We will take him to task if he collects the money and nothing is done. The Jubilee Government had promised to build five stadia all with indoor facilities. This was to enable our youth to train in games that would enable them to compete at the international level. We no longer play volleyball and other outdoor games. If we could have the five stadia out of the proceeds of gaming and lottery, it would be an added advantage. It is unfortunate that the few betting companies in the country had to pump over Kshs6 billion only to have a name printed on T-shirts that belong to some English club in Europe and yet they can only afford to spend a meagre Kshs 300 million on our local clubs which have a lot of talent. So, we are hoping that the 50 per cent tax, as has been indicated in the Bill, will go towards improving the talents of the young Kenyans, so that they can improve their livelihoods. I used to work in a town council where after people retired, they would be compelled to comeback to look for their benefits. It was unfortunate because the local authorities never used to remit employees’ deductions. The retirees were forced to use the little money they had to chase for their pension. I laud the proposed amendment that any person who fails to submit deductions will be penalised. It is not much and we should have prescribed a fine of more than Kshs100,000. The additional penalty of Kshs1,000 for every day remittance is delayed is welcome. Our retirees should be honoured in their old age and be given what is rightly theirs. In the Third Reading of the Bill, I will be asking the Committee in charge to improve some of the proposed amendments. The Public Finance Management (PFM) Act has been amended to bring on board Islamic laws. The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act is one of the laws that have had huge hiccups. For instance, when faced with disasters and we need to spend money, the law still 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."
}