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{
    "id": 976494,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/976494/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 256,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Siaya CWR, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Christine Ombaka",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1007,
        "legal_name": "Christine Oduor Ombaka",
        "slug": "christine-oduor-ombaka"
    },
    "content": "this Fund when it was established in 2014. We worked pretty well with women from Siaya, where this money was well used. There was so much demand for money from the Fund. We have even seen how it has benefitted groups. On the other hand, we have also seen those who have misused it and have ended up badly. Since 2014, it has performed poorly. The committee that was appointed was so discouraged. They did not have funds for transport to meetings to vet groups. They were not getting a single cent for meetings. They were looking after millions of shillings and they did not have even Ksh50 in their pockets. So, we need to allocate money for their administration, transport and various uses like 10.00 O’clock tea. As they vet many groups within a day or several days, they do so without funds. Members of Parliament have had to support them in doing that. That is the first thing that needs to be addressed in terms of making the Fund more-friendly and well utilised by other groups. The second thing is that the groups that are vetted rush for the money because it is easy money. It is good money in the sense that it is a loan with no interest. That is attractive enough. However, when they get the loan, the groups that have been vetted and benefitted from the loan disband quickly because they get easy money. Before you know it, they are no longer there. When you look for them to return the funds, they do not exist. Something is wrong with the way our people utilise such funds. They do not take them seriously because they think it is too easy to get it. For those who have embezzled the funds, we have not seen any punishment meted on them. They were just blacklisted. What is blacklisting? Once you blacklist someone, they will not be able to access other funds. That is not punishment. It makes them go scot-free. They go free and even though they will not get any funds any more, they are happy with that because they enjoyed the money. So, there has to be some kind of restriction. What do we do when they embezzle funds? What do we do when groups disband after they have been allocated funds? Those are the nitty gritty parts of the Fund. There is no restriction. There is nothing strict that can bind anybody to return the money and make other people enjoy the money as well. The other thing that I have observed in groups is that there are people on the ground who do not know how to work in groups. They would rather take the funds as individuals with their own businesses. That must be a new way of looking at this. Let us allow individuals also to access the funds if they cannot work in groups or if they are not members of any group that can benefit from it. Individuals who are doing all kinds of business should be allowed to benefit from it. They told us that they were going to make law on Women Enterprise Fund. I do not think they have done it. They insist that individuals become members of groups to enjoy the facility. Lastly, there was a time in the last Parliament when the Uwezo Fund and the Youth Enterprise Development Fund were supposed to be collapsed into one big fund. What became of it? It looked like it was attractive to handle such funds, put them together in one big house and disburse as much as you can. That could help, I do not know. The fact is that all these funds act the same way. They are all funds for various groups like women, youth and people with disabilities. There are three types of funds, namely; Youth, Women and the Uwezo funds. If they were to be collapsed together, there will be a lot of money in that kitty and groups will get a little more than what they are currently getting. A lot of them, huge groups, get Ksh100,000 and it does not impact effectively. So, if the money was collapsed to one fund, a group can get even Ksh700,000 and do good business and benefit from it. Those are some of my observations. The opportunity to improve the funds is high. Many people can benefit from the funds if we put restrictions on those who embezzle. They should be punished. They are just blacklisted. That is not enough to punish anybody who has misused funds. I support the Motion and I hope we will improve the Fund. 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."
}