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{
    "id": 938442,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/938442/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 340,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mogotio, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Daniel Tuitoek",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13434,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kamuren Tuitoek",
        "slug": "daniel-kamuren-tuitoek"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the Bill. It was interesting listening to the Leader of the Majority Party. I was actually amazed that he does not really care about Members of Parliament after they have left Parliament. He is actually preaching to us what we should be doing as we prepare to exit this august House. All we are saying is that if you look at the lives of former Members of Parliament, they are generally in a bad state. We are also saying that if you look at all the other sectors of the economy, people enjoy pension. I think Members of Parliament have put the bar too high for themselves. When they say you need to have served for two terms so that you can benefit from pension that is a little bit too high. We all know how difficult it is to come to this august House. When a Member comes here and spends five years serving the constituents in many ways, most of the time as you have heard from other Members of Parliament here, he puts most of his or her resources in supporting the constituents. We go to many Harambees. We pay schools fees and hospital bills. We even participate in assisting families when they lose their loved ones. Members of Parliament spend a lot of their resources in helping the constituents. I even do not know where the Leader of the Majority Party thinks that you can get extra money to start serious businesses. He may be lucky to be rearing camels, but in many other areas, people do not have time to do businesses. This Bill addresses the fact that former Members of Parliament served this nation over a long time and did not have enough time to do extra businesses. The amendment which is being brought by the Committee to include even the one-term Members is a way of saying that even by serving this nation for five years, you are entitled to some sort of protection after you leave Parliament. We know that almost 70 per cent of the Members of Parliament do not come back in every election. Therefore, if we leave these people to poverty, what will happen to them? They served this nation honourably. When Members of Parliament do not succeed to come back, they start looking for jobs as directors. We have even seen the President appointing people who are 70 years or 90 years old and leaving the young people in their 40s and 50s. I think a better way is to provide a safety net for our former Members of Parliament. They should be honourable. They should not be left to languish in poverty. This Bill is overdue. We should also include a provision for medical insurance. I think the sum of Kshs100,000 may not be adequate to cover medical costs. I suggest that an amendment be brought, so that we can include medical insurance for the former Members of Parliament. At old age, there are many diseases. You encounter many diseases as you get older. Therefore, most of the former Members of Parliament from the said period of 1984 to present are in their 60s and 90s and they need medical cover. Getting another employment opportunity is"
}