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{
    "id": 993003,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/993003/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 279,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Farhiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13179,
        "legal_name": "Farhiya Ali Haji",
        "slug": "farhiya-ali-haji"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I wish to commend the ad hoc Committee for a job well done. There is an issue that Sen. (Dr.) Mwaura canvassed around Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We know SMEs are going down. According to research done, it has been said that 70-80 per cent of the employment in this country is through SMEs. As a country, we have very high levels of unemployment. If we do not take care of this sector, there will be a lot of unemployment. As it has been predicted, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is also going down. So, there are a lot of other issues that will be affected. We will have a lot of social problems in this country if we are not careful. We do not think through that there will be life beyond COVID-19 pandemic. Madam Temporary Speaker, in the global statistics, a very high percentage of about 45-60 per cent of the SMEs do not see their fifth birthday. They do not live beyond five years. In a research done, it was discovered that in Kenya alone, 400,000 SMEs die annually. This was the case even before COVID-19 pandemic. Can you imagine what will happen with the problem being compounded by COVID-19 pandemic? Unless we provide a stimulus package to the SMEs in this country, most of them will die. That will be a very big disaster for this economy. Countries like the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA) are already giving some stimulus package to their SMEs. Giving stimulus packages is not only about leaving this one to see another day, but it is also creating circulation of money. When there is an economic hardship, even the money that is circulating within the community goes down and then the SME dies. That SME was employing like 10 people. Those 10 people who used to go to a shop to buy goods cease to do so. That shop will also cease to operate. The factories whose products used to be sold by those shops also close down. So, it has a lot of ripple effect if it is not carefully managed. Like the previous speakers have said, if we do not stop this capitalism mentality where we say market forces determine everything, we might just plunge our economy into a total collapse. This is an extra ordinary time and we need to be careful. Madam Temporary Speaker, the other issue that I want to comment on is the distribution of cash instead of food to the most vulnerable during this time when there is a lot of hardship. If you give people food, you take away their choices. If you give maize to people in certain places, that is okay. However, people from other places like where I come from, if you give them maize as food support, they give it to goats and cows. It is not that the people are not hungry, but that is not part of their diet. 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."
}