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{
    "id": 992661,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/992661/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 638,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13156,
        "legal_name": "Mutula Kilonzo Jnr",
        "slug": "mutula-kilonzo-jnr"
    },
    "content": "in the creation of the fund, there is no reason to offend those rules because the Ministry has a fund. If we raise money for purposes of COVID-19, all we need to do is find a framework under the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act that can handle this. Mr. Deputy Speaker Sir, would it not be nice to have a sovereign fund to cushion Kenyans, like the one they have in the Nordic countries, as opposed to what appears as adhoc tax reliefs, which are not helping? There was an issue in the Bill about employers possibly giving their workers unpaid leave. People have lost jobs. I remember calling Sen. Sakaja about owners of hotels. They have been forced to pay extra Value Added Tax (VAT) under the new laws, yet they are suffering more than everybody else. All hotels in the country have closed. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in terms of public health, availability of resources like water and rebates on electricity, can we not have this as part of economic and social rights under Article 43 of the Constitution? These rights are fundamental. We do not need to make provisions for things like this in a Pandemic and Response Management Bill. It becomes part and parcel of us. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for purposes of Nairobi City County, because this City and its population has the largest slums possibly in Southern Sahara--- Even in the testing that they were doing, can we find a method where the people who are living in informal settlements in Nairobi can get testing or medical care in their respective areas for purposes of this pandemic and many others? We should have a hospital that can deal with these issues next to Kibra. It is not my wish that we continue having unstructured informal settlements, but since it appears that it is not something that we have managed to tackle, we can deal with it for now. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, although this Bill also attempts to deal with workers, unless I did not read it properly, I am not certain whether it has tackled frontline workers. We have seen the question raised by Sen. Malalah about frontline health workers and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) issuing what would be unlawful and unconstitutional directives in the middle of a pandemic. We have also seen the national Government, through national Government officials, violating the COVID-19 rules when they demolished houses in Kariobangi. What is good for the goose must be good for the gander. If a Kenyan is found on a bodaboda and is fined Kssh20,000 for not having a mask, a national Government official should face a court of law for violating the same rules that they have, in terms of the demolitions that were in Kariobangi. Certain directives issued by the Chief Justice must find their way here. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, more importantly is that we will find from this pandemic, this Bill and the proposals made by Sen. Sakaja, the extent to which this Committee that is formed under the Pandemic Response Management Bill--- I have not seen the overarching principles that are anchored into practices that have been done here and are ongoing all over the world in this Bill. We must invest in research. Preventive healthcare is the answer to these pandemics. The people who are working in the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)--- Maybe you do not know, but if there is one entity that is completely unstructured and there is pilferage and wastage of resources, it is KEMRI. 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."
}