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{
    "id": 950033,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/950033/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 200,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 124,
        "legal_name": "Samson Kegeo Ongeri",
        "slug": "samson-ongeri"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to what I consider one of the most important Bills before this House. The Protection of Street Vendors Livelihood Bill 2019, deals with the plight of the street vendors. I had the privilege of being the Minister of Technical Training and Applied Technology in 1988. One of the issues we needed to resolve immediately, was Juakali artisans. They were spread all over the place and were doing things in a disorganized manner. The word ‘ Juakali’ was at that time considered very demeaning. If you called somebody a Juakali artisan, he would feel demeaned in stature and standing in society. We embarked on reorganizing the Juakali sector. First of all, we created the necessary infrastructure for them to function in a much more organized manner. Secondly, Juakali artisans were operating in informal settlements. We agreed with the World Bank to provide basic needs in our informal settlement. These basic needs were water, sanitation and waste disposal management. We did not want our people to go to a place which was unhygienic and then you breed another new problem of health hazards. You do not create a system by creating another health hazard. When we organized this sector, they were running in an organized manner throughout the entire Local Government system. There was proper allocation of land for everyone to function properly. We then embarked on the second stage of upgrading the skill. We formed a National Juakali Association. Those of us who can remember history, I carried out the first prototype exhibition in Eldoret Town. To the surprise of many, this organization grew to become a giant organization. It was able to move people from Moi Avenue, Tom Mboya Street and many other streets. That is how the industrial complex came up in Industrial Area. Today, it is now an East African Exhibition Centre. I give credit to those who worked with me at that time. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is possible to organize informal settlements to a completely new outfit which is productive and contributes to the economy of this nation. I am bringing this point because the Bretton Woods institutions put a crunch on Kenya getting foreign exchange. Between 1990 and 1992, the people who were able to keep this country afloat by providing employment was the Juakali sector. It provided 40 to 60 per cent of informal employment. They helped the nation hunch over from that area. When you compute, the contribution of these people to society had a particular index level for GDP. When you look at informal trading that is happening everywhere in our counties, it is the mainstay of our economy. It is able to touch the households that have very little money to spend. They can only operate in an organized place for them to earn their living and support their homesteads in a manner that is acceptable in society. It is a pitiful situation when even our boda boda riders were fighting for reorganization; to be placed somewhere where they can do their business with dignity. The level of harassment and dislocation that they have suffered is immeasurable. We can do this within the purview of the law because boda boda is also a business that can help 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."
}