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{
    "id": 812996,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/812996/?format=api",
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    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, for those of us who are in this House for the second time, there is, at least, the possibility or assurance of a defined benefit of pension. However, this is only upon the attainment of 45 years of age. I do not know how old Sen. Olekina or Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. are; they look fairly young. However, by the time some of us finish our second term, we will not have attained 45 years of age. In my case, I will be 40 years; which means that I will have to wait for another five years to access my pension. This is a tragedy because younger people are coming to Parliament. The truth of the matter is that by the time one finishes their term, they would have been cannibalized because of the informal social welfare system which requires us to solve community problems with our monies. I was recently with some legislators from across Africa in some forum and they were surprised at the salary that a Member of Parliament (MP) in Kenya gets. It is high, not because of anything else; but because of the high dependency; we are actually social welfare dispensers. One day I asked the Deputy President about the kind of pressure he goes through, because I could feel the pressure when I was vying for the position of an MP in Ruiru Constituency. He told me, “Sen. Mwaura, wacha tu! ” Therefore, you can imagine that pressure. Can you imagine the pressure that the President or the party leaders go through, because over and above being asked to do such things, they also bankroll campaigns. This whole issue of election campaign financing is a grey area. Therefore, you serve this country, you are treated with dignity, but the moment you lose power, you are treated like a door mat. When one loses power, even the phone calls reduce and you do not need to charge your phone twice a day."
}