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{
    "id": 812715,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/812715/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 349,
    "type": "other",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "This Bill is very timely. It is totally unacceptable that if you have presidential ambitions in this country and you have been a long serving parliamentarian and you end up not getting the seat--- Currently some of the people who have done so are not even able to access their own pension. Suppose you have been here as a Member of Parliament (MP) for four terms and you are now running for presidency, you are supposed to access your pension as a parliamentarian. Madam Temporary Speaker, if the systems were working well, this Bill by Sen. Olekina could not even be there. However, as we know, in this country, we tend to politic a lot and take advantage of situations. That is exactly what has happened in this case. We have a situation where people who have served this country are now not seen as eligible for what is rightfully theirs. We may think that this issue is today affecting whoever would be our political nemesis, however, the truth of the matter as has been said by Masinde Muliro and others, if you have no ambition; you have no business being in politics. I do not know where we will find ourselves in some few years to come but we may find ourselves in the same predicament. You find the same in the law of contracts and labour laws, there is a procedure and precedence but because we have politicized public positions in this country, it appears as if when you become a politician, it is like you forfeit some of your rights. I say this without a fear of doubt that while it is true that there are people who live off politics and others who live for politics, a good number of people who find themselves in the public service actually volunteer themselves to ensure that there is a change in the society. For me, it is very important that we establish precedence so that it is not for conjecture or for somebody to decide. For the avoidance of doubt, when you have served as the Deputy President, Prime Minister and other similar positions, if we change the Constitution to bring back the position in future who knows, you should be given your dues as and when you have served. Madam Temporary Speaker, retirement benefits are not a salary. However, there is a misconception that retirement benefits amount to someone being maintained by the State. We have defined contribution and benefits. This is a defined benefit. We are losing a lot of money in corruption. We have just come from debating the Chinese contracts that are ending up with the behavior that we are seeing with the management of the Madaraka Express and the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Let us face it; it is easy to access loans from the Chinese Export/Import Bank at a higher rate of 35 per cent, which is less than the World Bank at three per cent because Chinese banks have kickbacks. So, people know that if you go and get a Chinese company, you are sorted. This is widening the gap between the haves and the have not’s or the poor and the rich in this country. As Wilson Churchill said: “To tax yourself into prosperity is like a man in a bucket waiting to lift the bucket using the handle.” That is the challenge we are having. Madam Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you look at our analysis of the Budget, a good chunk of that money from the consolidated financial services is going to pay the wages of those people who have retired, at the same time, we have a huge reservoir of retirement money. I believe our Pension Fund in the whole country is now over Kshs1 trillion. These are monies that are lying idle that can be put into better use and, therefore, it is not The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}