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{
    "id": 976457,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/976457/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 219,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Gilgil, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Martha Wangari",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13123,
        "legal_name": "Martha Wangari",
        "slug": "martha-wangari"
    },
    "content": "When the groups are trained, you can bet it will be very difficult for them to sit and share the money amongst themselves like we see today. They will put it to good use, so that they are able to repay it at the right time. The grace period is also important for the public. I have been able to disburse and very soon, I will be disbursing Ksh3.6 million to several groups. I already have the authority to incur expenditure to the team. However, this has not been a walk in the park because recovering the money using chiefs and sub-chiefs makes you gain political enemies. We need to get proper guidelines and regulations for the people to understand that despite the fact that the start of the Fund was political, this is not free money. It has to be paid back on zero interest. To make this successful, the youth officers in the constituencies need money and vehicles. Most of the time, I have to facilitate them from my pocket to reach the members in the villages. I hope we can agree with the Cabinet Secretary and through the board, to set aside, at least, 5 per cent for the committee to run and make the recoveries. We will also have to get a way of making sure that issues of embezzlement of the funds are also taken very seriously. If you scan through the Report, you will find that there is a bit of embezzlement of funds from 19 constituencies. We need to see action, so that all committees in the constituencies will know that this is public money that will be subject to public scrutiny and the law of the country. If these issues are covered, we will be able to raise awareness on the Fund. I know a group of elderly women in my constituency from a place called Ndoti, who buy and sell, who have received more than Ksh500,000. The group is doing very well. In fact, I send younger members to benchmark with the elderly women. With proper guidelines and regulations, and if the Fund is well managed, it will raise the standards of living of many people in the countryside, especially during these economic times. With those remarks, I support."
}