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{
    "id": 81254,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/81254/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 582,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Wamalwa",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 148,
        "legal_name": "Eugene Ludovic Wamalwa",
        "slug": "eugene-wamalwa"
    },
    "content": "I beg to withdraw this Bill; before I brought this Bill, I had brought a Motion to this House last year and we passed a resolution in this House, allowing earlier access to retirement benefits of up to 50 per cent. After the passage of that resolution by the House, the Ministry of Finance undertook to implement that resolution passed by this House by gazetting the changes that had been proposed to the “Mwiraria Rule”, famously so known, under the Retirement Benefits Authority, to allow people who leave employment below the retirement age to access their employers’ contributions up to 50 per cent; this was not possible under the “Mwiraria Rule”. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance has gazetted and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance has accepted to table this gazettment so as to confirm that the amendment which I seek to make to the Retirement Benefits Act to implement the resolution of this House through the Motion has already been dealt with by the Ministry of Finance through this gazettment. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, these changes will touch the lives of many young Kenyans who left employment before the retirement age. Pension reforms are very sensitive reforms that touch on the lives of many people. Today as we speak, in France, there have been riots over reforms in the pension sector. There have been reforms in Germany that have touched the lives of many and caused millions to come out to the streets. Indeed through these amendments, the gazette notice that the Minister will lay on the table today, we will know that changes are going to come, particularly to young people like James Gone who made me bring this Amendment Bill. He was a young man who left employment just at 42. He had about Kshs2 million held up by his employer and he could not access this money. Indeed, James Ngone after leaving his employment was forced to lose his house and he became destitute with his family just because he could not access these funds. If this rule had been there to allow James Gone access these funds, he could have saved the house and he would not be a destitute with his family. Today, I believe it will be a good step to help many young people to come up and access their benefits, even before the retirement age whenever it is necessary up to 50 percent. But it will also allow for the culture of saving their money for old age. With these few remarks, I beg to move. I will invite the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to table the gazette notice."
}