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{
    "id": 858860,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/858860/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 102,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Makali Mulu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Let me also add my voice to this important Bill. I support this Bill. Initially, I was opposed to the procedure because I felt that as a House, we discussed all these issues and agreed they are important to the country. We need to pass a message clearly. It is not the work of the National Assembly to push the Senate to do its work. If the Bill has been lying for some time, this is the reason Hon. Muriuki is bringing this Bill. We passed the Bill for the Senate to do their work and we can have an Act, so that workers can get their pensions, but up to now, we do not have any Act of Parliament. I support the Bill. If this is going to push the Senate to conclude the other one, then we would be home and dry. I have said that because there are two Bills, namely, the County Retirement Benefits Bill and the County Pensions Bill, that are almost similar in terms of intention. There would be need at some point to make sure that all the good things from this Bill and all the good things which we had approved in the earlier Bill are harmonized so that, at the end of the day, we have one law which takes care of county governments. We all know the benefits of a pension scheme. As workers, there is nothing an employer can give you at the end of the day which is better than pension. You will draw pension until you die. To some extent, even your family members might benefit for a period of about five years. There is no question as to whether this makes sense or not since it is a good law. What we are discussing is the issue of when we are going to have this law in place so that county governments can start enjoying the benefits of this law. That is why I support it. I supported the earlier one, but it is still stuck somewhere in the Senate. I do not know why. When you look at the Constitution, the work of the Senate is to take care of the interests of the counties. When you marry a wife, you promise her that you will take care of her and she promises that she will take care of you. Because you have an agreement that you will take care of each other, you go that extra mile to make sure that you take care of your wife and she goes an extra mile to make sure that she takes care of you as a husband. The law says that the Senate exists to support and make sure that the interest of the counties is properly protected and promoted. The only person who is supposed to promote those interests is the person sitting on the interests. At one time, Kenyans said that at times we need to look at the functions and the importance of the Senate. They might be justified. I plead with the Senate that they get over this row. Hon. Wangari has just said that we spent so much time discussing this Bill and here we are discussing it again and wasting the precious time of this House. But now that they have not passed that law, we have a reason to discuss this. I have looked at the Bill and there are some good things. Pension scheme funds are supposed to be invested so that they can generate more money and the workers can benefit more. When you look at this Bill, it makes very clear provisions in terms of fund managers, fund administrators and the county pension fund so that these funds are invested in areas which confirm highest returns. As a result, workers will be able to draw higher returns when they retire. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}