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{
    "id": 808316,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/808316/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 245,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Dennitah Ghati",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13514,
        "legal_name": "Jacquiline Adhiambo Oduol",
        "slug": "jacqueline-adhiambo-oduol"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity. I am happy that you have selected three ladies in a row to speak on matters budget. I think you are one very gender sensitive Chair and I thank you. I really support the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill because we are talking about ways of strengthening our revenue collection. I am happy that we are doing well in terms of revenue collection in this country. However, what I am not sure and keen about, is where the revenue that we collect go to. A lot of money in this country is going to waste. Before the Budget Statement was made, we saw the amounts of money that had been wasted and embezzled through the NYS, the Ministry of Health, many other companies and ministries which mishandled and officers stole money. This is a shame to this country. In as much as the budget looks holistically into the affairs of this country, we tend to basically overtax this country. Kenyans are overtaxed yet in terms of services delivery, our people do not get the services they pay for. Our various county governments are mishandling and embezzling funds. I support my party leader and President Uhuru Kenyatta on their statement on lifestyle audits. We have to look at how our governors become millionaires overnight. This is an issue that we need to address and look into. In developed countries like the United Kingdom (UK), they have national rotaries and proceeds from these rotaries, gaming and betting go to support a course like health or persons living with disabilities. However, in this country, we have wazungus who are coming and opening gaming sites everywhere even in the counties and major cities like Kisumu, Mombasa and Nairobi. Everywhere you go, you will find casinos. People are making money and becoming millionaires overnight. We do not know how they are taxed. This is the reason I support these amendments because we are seeking for ways of highly taxing the betting companies. We have not seen betting companies giving to our philanthropy work. I want to see them giving to philanthropy work and supporting education, children with disability and other courses. These people are taking money outside this country and making our people poor. We have seen young people in this country who are jobless only thinking about betting. The world cup is here and everyday I find my young friends telling me to bet even for teams I do not know. They told me to bet on Poland or Lions of Teranga, simply because they know I will lose because I am not a football fun and they will make money out of this. We need to address the issue of youth unemployment because we have no choice as a country. I have had opportunity to live in the United States of America (USA) where betting is basically regulated and people bet for a cause. In this country it just goes everywhere. In those countries that are developed like the USA where I have lived, worked and studied, we know that their governments cushion the Americans and the Britons. The governments in those countries have established what we are calling the food rations. You know the food rations. You know the medicare and coupons that poor people in such countries and people who live in settlements usually go for shopping with. This is because those governments are very serious in cushioning the welfare of the people. I am a little happy because the taxation of my constituents… You know I am the Member of Parliament for persons with disability. I look at the way in which this taxation has basically tried to cushion my people. Of course, you are aware people with disability are tax exempt to a certain level and they actually do not pay taxes. However, even for them to access that The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}