Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 872804,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/872804/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 417,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Halake",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13184,
        "legal_name": "Abshiro Soka Halake",
        "slug": "abshiro-soka-halake"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me the chance to lend my voice to the discussions on The County Government Retirement Scheme Bill, 2018. I rise to support it. However, as my colleagues said, I have concerns around Bills that were before this House that then ended up coming back to us from the National Assembly and they are many. However, my brother has said that we should not let this be about ourselves, which I think is correct. Again, while I was reading this Bill, at the end of it, it says this Bill concerns counties and it is not a money Bill. If that is the case, and this House had a similar case that we debated, I wonder why then our Bill was swept under the carpet and then we are now discussing it as a Bill emanating from the National Assembly. Madam Temporary Speaker, each time a Bill is a money Bill, the National Assembly is quick to point that out and make sure that it goes to its rightful place. Fair enough. In this case it seems that the Senate has chosen to just give up on a very good Bill that we had in this House that has now been overtaken by events. This Bill is taking care of senior citizens. For a very long time, retirees have suffered at the hands of some of these funds. People have spent every single thing they have from the time they retire to the time they die just chasing to get the little amount that is due to them. I do not see much by the way of implementation and ensuring that problem has been resolved in this Bill. One of the things, perhaps in the regulations that the Cabinet Secretary (CS) will come up with is to ensure that there is robust implementation of some of the provisions of this Bill with regard to how people access their money and how their transition to this Bill will happen. This is because many people have suffered at the hands of some of these schemes, whereas, they should not continue to suffer. Madam Temporary Speaker, many people have had to make several trips to come to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) or to Nairobi County to claim very little amounts. Sometimes they have spent so much money they do not even have, to begin with. My prayer then is that as we debate this Bill and ensure that it sees the light of day, we must ensure that the regulations that follow it are going to be useful and will take care of the gaps that exist in the other scheme that we have had, where our retirees have suffered immensely at the hands of some of these schemes. Madam Temporary Speaker, as a child or a retiree myself, I know how many times my father and other members of my family have had to come to Nairobi County to chase their dues which they have not got up to today. Some of them continue to do this. However, my worry with this Bill is that because this is not a Bill of this House, I do not know how much power we may have over what will happen next. I am not sure that if we pass this Bill, we will have our say in what happens next. We have beautiful laws in this country. It is not for lack of laws and legislation that people suffer, but lack of implementation. In my opinion, this Bill is a bit---."
}