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{
    "id": 851723,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/851723/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 228,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "of the Constitution is very clear about what the national Government can levy and what the county government can levy. We have condoned a lot of practices that are inhibiting our counties from getting money. We are in the days of transport crisis and I hope that it has been resolved. We have Uber, which is a service that raises billions but the Kenyan Government or Nairobi City Government does not get a Shilling from it. I do not know if you are aware of that. If you get into an Uber taxi today and you pay Kshs1,000 or Kshs2,000, 25 per cent of that immediately goes to the Netherlands. The driver is only left with 75 per cent which is below the Automobile Association (AA) rates. Our drivers are suffering and the county governments and national Government are not getting a Shilling from that billion shilling industry. As a Senate, we need to look at this because it is potential revenue for our counties. I am sure that you have ridden into taxis across the world. When you get in to a taxi in Washington. D.C, you are immediately charged US$2.5. Where does that money go? It goes to the local government though Washington D.C may not be the best example because of the no taxation without representation. However, that is what happens in any other part of the world. Today, we have a situation where we have drivers who cannot get into Uber service because their cars are old. They cannot get into that service because their cars must only be eight years old yet they are being undercut and they do not have a way to equalize the amount of revenue that they get. This is something that we must look at. These drivers are suffering. The Uber drivers are suffering and I will ask the Senate Majority Leader, because I know that he gets things done, to walk with me to the car auction yards in Nairobi. He will find hundreds of cars which were formally on Uber being auctioned because the drivers cannot afford yet when you go to the banks, there are people lining up for loans to buy the same cars so as to put them back in Uber. It is a vicious cycle. There is a lot of potential for us to give revenue to our counties. In fact, it is amazing what the world has become. The biggest transport company today is a technological company based in the Netherlands. We should find a way where we can provide for our drivers the minimal. We have competition laws which should tell you what you need to pay per kilometer. I will give you the last example. If a young student going to the United States International University-Africa, (USIU) gets off at Thika Road Mall (TRM) and wants to go to USIU, a boda boda will cost him or her Kshs150 or Kshs200 but an Uber that takes four students will cost Kshs200.They are now being used as handcarts yet we are pushing out our boda boda riders and handcart pullers and we are not getting revenue from it. Not understanding technology should not prevent us from sorting this out. Let us fight for the drivers who are suffering every day, those who work for long hours which make them to cause accidents so as to sort out the transport issues. This is one way of getting more revenue for our counties. Let us look at the Uber and our transport industry. Kenya is one of the 21st century countries where the only public thing about public transport is the passengers. That is the only thing that makes us call it public transport. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}