Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 749645,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/749645/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 125,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "advancement of what we call payment and settlement systems that we have in Kenya and in Nairobi. Possibly, once we set this rolling, we might need to legislate on a specific payment system. In 2006 they did that in Singapore. In New York, they have that. We should have the Payment and Systems Oversight Act that provides for a proper clearing house in Nairobi. It has to be multicurrency because of the kind of transactions that we will be talking about within Nairobi International Financial Centre. To diversify our methods of settlement and payment, currently the most popular in Kenya is what we call the “real-time gross system (RTGS)”. We need to move from that. I will again give the example of Singapore. On top of that, the equivalent of their RTGS is what they call the “electronic payment system”. They have a continuously linked system that they have been using. They have an automated clearing house that is multicurrency because of the kind of diverse transactions we are talking about. They also have a networked electronic funds transfer and point of sale system that they have been able to implement and use. It comes with a number of things to have an international finance centre. One of the key aspects – and we know how the property market is in Nairobi and Kenya – is wealth management and insurance. You need to create an equal system that makes Kenya the leading insurance market place in Africa. You need to have an ecosystem. In the ecosystem of insurance, you have life and general insurance, reinsurance, captives, intermediaries, brokerage firms and ancillary service providers. That creates an entire ecosystem through which jobs are created, and it adds to the capital pool of the country because of the very nature of insurance business. In addition to that, when we talk about wealth management that will be provided under the Nairobi International Finance Centre, we are talking about asset management where we create more opportunities for asset management not just for Nairobi but throughout the region. We are also talking about hedge fund management and private equity. We expect to see our capital markets developing. I remember about two years ago – Hon. Bunyasi would remind us – in the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade, we were discussing the new commodities market and mercantile exchange and even privatising those in Nairobi for the entire region. Countries that have excelled in having an international financial centre are countries that have had strategic geographical location, like we do in Nairobi. They have been able to provide business infrastructure. That is the only reason I agree with Hon. Wanyonyi that probably, in this Steering Council, you need to have the Governor of Nairobi as well as the Senator, yours truly, and the Woman Representative. You cannot have an international financial centre in a city that cannot even collect garbage. You also cannot have an international financial centre when there is political obstruction within the city. Therefore, within the Steering Council, not the board of directors, you need to have the leaders to give it the political goodwill of the people of Nairobi. Within the New York Financial Centre, there is the senator of New York, who sits there just to represent the people. Of course, it is beyond the City of Nairobi. We need to have a clear pro- business environment to be able to actualise this. It must be cost-competitive, with effective regulation within the environment. This is because regulation is very important for there to be stability within the financial system. Nairobi has also a large pool of highly skilled professionals who can participate in this. Even as we say this, we must stay alive to the fact that in as much as we are providing incentives for all these international firms to be able to come and compete with domestic firms and provide all the services--- If you look at Clause 32(a) of the Bill, you will appreciate that the firms which have been registered as NIFC firms accredited cannot be subject to any 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."
}