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{
    "id": 849514,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/849514/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 72,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Allow me, first, to recognise the students from Makini School as well as Starehe Boys Centre; both in my County. The students from Starehe Boys Centre have been on an attachment. They attended my Committee sitting yesterday. They are excited about what happens in this House. I visited students from Ngara Girls High School who are sitting for their exams. We wish them all the best in their exam. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a big issue. If committed to my Committee, as Sen. Wambua has said – I thank the Senator for Kitui, he has acknowledged how hard my Committee works – we will take it up because it is a very serious issue. We have met county government workers unions in three counties and we are moving to other counties. We have realised that even county governments are not remitting statutory deductions for many of their staff. Nairobi County, for instance – and I hate to use my county as an example – owes Local Authorities Pensions Trust (LAPTRUST) Kshs13 billion and Local Authorities Provident Fund (LAPFUND) another Kshs13 billion. What is happening now is asset swaps. This issue must be looked at critically because people must be surcharged. There must be individual culpability for failing to make these statutory deductions because when these people retired, their National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions will not be paid. When they go to hospital they are told their National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) contributions have not been remitted. It should not be taken casually as people are taking it. I urge hon. Senators to be very careful and make sure that in their offices they do those remittances. The office of the Senator for Nairobi is being surcharged. I am being surcharged Kshs13 million because the previous Senator did not remit PAYE, NHIF and NSSF. My office is already poor. I have no allocation as a Senator, but I am being surcharged by the KRA, NHIF and NSSF, Kshs14 million to be precise. It is a serious issue. People must stop taking this casually. Accounting officers must know that NHIF, NSSF and PAYE money is not their money. It is not a favour they are doing to those workers. It is an obligation under the law. It is an offence not to pay these amounts. We will look at that issue together with the issue of water. There are challenges. We need to come up with a serious position as a Senate on how these water resources are managed in the counties and all those assets go back to the counties as opposed to these parastatals. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we will take up the matter if you give it to my Committee."
}