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{
"id": 938468,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/938468/?format=api",
"text_counter": 366,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Emuhaya, ANC",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
},
"content": "people, even those who served earlier between 1963 and 1984, they never got anything. But this particular group is suffering and needs to be considered. I do not find the Bill extravagant because the Mover came up with the figures as they are. He stated that they are about 500 persons. I also listened to Otieno Mak’Onyango, the Secretary of FOPAK, which we are all headed to sooner or later. He was very sentimental when he said that many Members leave Parliament worse than they came. And that is true. For that reason, this Bill is worth supporting. Remember we are making this law for people who have already exited. So, we are not benefitting. Again, it is good for me to remark that this is not money that will go to sitting Members, but to Members who served in previous Parliaments. It is also remarkable to note that they earn between Kshs2,000 and Kshs8,000. Possibly, that is why other speakers have put it at an average of Kshs6,000. This is way below what such dignified people should earn. This law is not extravagant because if you take the recurrent wage bill for the former Members, if we were to pay them Kshs100,000, we will only spend about Kshs250 million per year. That is really manageable given the kind of extravagance that we see in the Government and the corruption that follows that extravagance. If we solved the issue of corruption, we can support many families. I wish, on this early advent, to differ with what the Leader of the Majority Party said, that he does not want any amendments to this law. This being a House of debate, we have the right to bring amendments. We can either win or be defeated by the House. Later on, I wish we could include the spouses of former Members of Parliament who are still alive because those are the desperate families we see in the villages. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, you and I come from a shared vicinity and you know the families of the late Asala, Sande Mukuna, Muhanji and Muchilwa. Those are people you know very well and who served in this House. Those are families that need to be supported. This Bill is on point. It goes beyond honouring former Members of Parliament and looking at the economic trends and addressing the question of inflation and inflationary trends on pensions that they are given. Such pension was pegged on their salaries which were small. As a House, we must consistently consider the inflationary trends that bite pensions over the years. This is in line with the labour argument of the consumption price index (CPI), which we use many times to negotiate for salaries, as a seasoned trade unionist. Therefore, this Bill is trying to put in place what the pension should have been at this time in relation to the inflationary trends. That will help determine what they should be earning presently. Therefore, without much ado, I want to support the Bill. We shall be supporting any good amendment that is brought to the Bill, including, but not limited to, former councillors who are languishing in poverty in the villages."
}