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{
    "id": 965480,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/965480/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 401,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kihika",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13216,
        "legal_name": "Susan Wakarura Kihika",
        "slug": "susan-wakarura-kihika"
    },
    "content": "on morality; whether it is just really being punitive so as to stop many people from participating in betting, lotteries and gaming. It is either you give the licenses and let the people carry this on or you do it in a reasonable manner. That is why I believe in some of these amendments the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights felt were unbearable. Going also from Kshs40, 000 to Kshs20 million is harsh. It also begs the question as to whether we are trying to do away with the small players in the country and leave the field for the big boys. It just seems off. That is why we came back with proposals to actually not just go to Kshs20 million, but to Kshs500, 000 instead of that kind of a jump. When we look at the Dairy Industry Act, it has to do with milk. Like the Mover of the Bill, the Senate Majority Leader has stated that milk has become one of those things that we must look at it in a very critical manner. This is because there has been quite a bit of outcry. When there were discussions as to whether to make the punishment very punitive, I believe as a Committee when we were looking at these amendments, it also had a lot to do with looking at who is being targeted. Is it my next door neighbor in Subukia, Nakuru County with a small milk kiosk? Who are we targeting when we make these extreme punishments for small acts? That is why as a Committee we felt that the jump should not be that excessive or extreme. A lot of those people dealing with milk will be just a farmer with one or two cows in Narok, somewhere near Sen. Olekina’s place. As much as we want to make sure that we are making milk, which is such an important product that we consume safe, we also do not want to make it impossible for the small farmer to play in this market as well. I strongly also felt that the levies should be left to county governments and should in no way shape or form be regulated at the national level, but leave them to the county governments. There is also the law on the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). It is a great thing where now we are shortening or limiting the terms so that we do not have chief executives staying on forever and stealing from the poor people. These ones will stay for a shorter period. It is also good to see that we have this in law so that they are not staying there forever. It was also good where they have this amendment where a person who is unable to pay the contributions and the board is able to certify as such that they have been unable to pay, then such contributions are payable by the Government. That is really important. As we move into the Universal Health Care (UHC), that can only go a long way in helping our people who are unable to make these contributions. On the Crops Act, there are minimal changes from Ministers to Cabinet Secretaries. That is just to be in tandem with what we have in the Constitution now. That is agreeable. However, it is important to see that we are giving a bigger role to the CoG versus just retaining a lot of this power at the national Government yet things to do with crops are devolved. Madam Temporary Speaker, let me also talk a bit on the National Employment Authority Act, 2016. I am happy to see that the amendments they are bringing forward have to do with taking care of our migrant workers or Kenyans who go abroad. We have all read and seen the cases. For example, in Saudi Arabia, there seems to be quite a problem when our girls go there. There is a problem as far as how they are treated. We 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."
}