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{
    "id": 964484,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/964484/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 282,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nambale, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Sakwa Bunyasi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2511,
        "legal_name": "John Sakwa Bunyasi",
        "slug": "john-sakwa-bunyasi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I wish to add my voice to the debate on this proposed Bill for the introduction of gaming control, namely, the Gaming Bill, 2019. Many people have spoken already and have talked about the dangers related to certain age groups - particularly the younger ones - and what might constitute unhealthy influences. That is the case. We should also remember that those controls that we have put in place will not be total. There will be ways in which one can get around them. We need the system capacity to provide counseling services. The speaker who just finished speaking before me alluded to the risks, not only to the youth but adults as well. We worry about the adults as well. Given the hard times that have persisted in this economy for some time now, incomes are low and declining. That is the case because factories have closed and set up shop elsewhere. In Western, we have big employers like Mumias Sugar Company whose income capacity would influence the whole region. There is a big dearth of income and, therefore, a void in which poverty and poverty-related challenges have come in. When people turn strongly to illicit brews or gambling, it is sometimes the way in which they are trying to cope with the hardships that they are facing. This is chipping away at those who were the first people online to move away from those destructive habits in schools and also the youth in the village. That is a very encouraging thing to do. That is the downside. If properly taxed, the proceeds from gambling have a potential to be constructive and build the society. Given the limited incomes, particularly in counties that are far away from the capital city, this should have been another significant source in which they can use the proceeds to introduce support schemes for the ultra-poor, either at their children’s schools or access to health services or social services. In this country, as it is happening elsewhere, it could have been a continuing source of resources that you can rely on to finance the essential aspects which are usually not fully appreciated at the national level and can easily be cut out of the budget. That is something to think about. We can think about any other additional sources of income such as sin taxes since gambling tax is considered a sin tax. It has a punitive component that can be used to increase incomes and replace the incomes the counties would have received. Some counties are truly struggling. At the village level, you and your god are the only sources of survival. If you are unable to do anything, nobody else will come to your aid. It is exemplified in the worst case scenarios when we have national emergencies like what has been going on in West Pokot. A second day will pass before people receive meals and tents. We have so many helicopters in this country, a big army, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and others who could go in and save every soul in less dramatic ways. We have those challenges where we could use money that will come from gambling to try and cure the ills. 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."
}