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{
"id": 1558912,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558912/?format=api",
"text_counter": 152,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kericho County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Beatrice Kemei",
"speaker": null,
"content": "can assist them. The county governments may not be able to allocate the required resources. The Bill allows the county governments to collaborate with the national Government to reach those in the remote parts of the counties. Some of our elderly and the vulnerable may not have food. Even with the subsidised fertilisers, some of them may not be able to plant crops. With the cash transfers, the county governments would be able to identify them and provide the necessary resources. Some of them have very small pieces of land to grow food. Since food security is important, the county governments can provide as it is required. I support the Bill since it will help us assist the most vulnerable members of the society."
},
{
"id": 1558913,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558913/?format=api",
"text_counter": 153,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Member for Marsabit."
},
{
"id": 1558914,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558914/?format=api",
"text_counter": 154,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Marsabit County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Naomi Waqo",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this very important Bill that concerns the vulnerable in our society such as the senior citizens. Senior citizens may have worked in the past but they now live in poverty in different parts of the country. They have no protection against danger. They do not have medical care, social protection or relatives to support them. We also have people living with disabilities in many parts of the country who have been disadvantaged in many ways. Many African societies view any disability as a curse on a family, and they hide those living with disabilities. The disabled are not exposed or given opportunities for education. They are not protected from danger. They do not have medical care and they end up suffering."
},
{
"id": 1558915,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558915/?format=api",
"text_counter": 155,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Marsabit County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Naomi Waqo",
"speaker": null,
"content": "We also have orphans who have no parents to take care of them. Many times, even their relatives take advantage of them and end up mistreating them. This Bill will give hope to many. That is why I stand to support it. It seeks to take care of the minority, the vulnerable, persons living with disabilities, the elderly, and orphans. I also wish to talk about the issue of drug addiction in our country, which is spiraling out of control. Many of our young people, driven by frustration, have turned to drugs and a significant number require rehabilitation. As a country, we must plan for them, support them, and find ways to rehabilitate and reintegrate them back into society. The parents of those drug- dependent individuals are suffering, as they lack the means to help their children. If this Bill can incorporate mechanisms to assist such families, it will be of great benefit. Another category of the vulnerable group in our society is people living with HIV/AIDS. We are fully aware that HIV/AIDS has plagued our society and has been here for many years. Numerous families are affected. These are the vulnerable individuals who require urgent attention. This Social Protection Bill will assist all the people who need Government support across the country. The Bill will also enable us, as Members of Parliament, to identify those in need and support them through this framework. We must have accurate data on all the categories I have mentioned. Without this data, we cannot adequately assist the vulnerable in our society. In Marsabit County where I come from, for instance, people live across vast areas, and the distance from the county headquarters to many settlements is long. Without proper records, it becomes difficult to identify those in need. The Government must therefore, take it seriously in the collection of data on vulnerable populations in every part of the country. As we do that, one guiding factor is the poverty level. Poverty in Kenya is alarmingly high. Over 39 per cent of Kenyans live below the poverty line. Specifically, the figure stands at 39.6 per cent, which is quite high. Worse still, the most vulnerable in our society have often been overlooked. The Ksh2,000 given to elderly individuals is insufficient, even for basic medication. In counties like mine, the poverty rate is over 66 per cent. That means a majority of the population is living in dire conditions. Once this Social Protection Bill becomes law, it will allow us to locate these individuals and offer them the necessary support. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1558916,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558916/?format=api",
"text_counter": 156,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Marsabit County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Naomi Waqo",
"speaker": null,
"content": "There is another challenge that I must raise, particularly concerning the registration of individuals from border counties such as Marsabit. Many people do not have national identity cards. We are grateful to the President, who has directed that identity cards should now be issued without excessive vetting. There are elderly individuals, some over 70 years old, who still lack identity cards, despite their children having completed university and working in Kenya. These people have been unfairly denied identification. As we push for the enactment of this Bill, I urge the Government to ensure the registration of elderly citizens, especially those in border counties like Marsabit, so that they may qualify for social protection benefits. As I conclude, we need to create enough awareness. There are numerous policies in place, but many Kenyans remain unaware of them. The best action the Government can take is to create awareness among the public, particularly at the grassroots, about their rights and the provisions of this Bill. This will empower them to claim what is rightfully theirs. With those remarks, I support the Bill and encourage my fellow Members of Parliament to contribute positively to ensure its enactment. Let us support our vulnerable citizens, the widows, orphans, persons with disabilities, those living with HIV/AIDS, and all others who require our attention. Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I support."
},
{
"id": 1558917,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558917/?format=api",
"text_counter": 157,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Those Members who have their hands raised on the majority side, we have already given three opportunities on this side, consecutively. Let the minority side also have a chance. Member for Seme."
},
{
"id": 1558918,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558918/?format=api",
"text_counter": 158,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker for this opportunity. I rise to support this Bill. Social protection is one of the features that distinguishes human societies from animal societies. It is only human beings who, in their right mind who create programmes to protect the vulnerable. Animals do not. This is, therefore, an extremely important Bill. It aligns with our 2010 Constitution, which enshrines these protections. Chapter 4, the Bill of Rights, particularly Article 43, outlines the areas where citizens must be protected: health, housing, access to clean water and sanitation, and social security. This Bill is in full conformity with these provisions of the Constitution. We also have to look at the issue of poverty in our country. When defined by a daily expenditure of approximately US$2.15, poverty in Kenya ranges from 26 to 46 per cent in various parts of the country. Poverty is even more prevalent in urban areas than in rural settings. For instance, in urban areas, any household with a monthly income of less than Ksh8,800 is classified as poor, while in rural areas, the threshold is Ksh4,300. This Bill aims to protect individuals in these categories. It is not merely about offering protection, it is about ensuring survival. Many families, with minimal social support can thrive and their children can attend school. That way, they will not only survive but also improve human capital. If children from such families are educated and supported, they experience upward social mobility. Furthermore, social protection is an investment, not only socially, but also economically. It has been proven that where there are cash transfers, for every dollar given as a cash transfer, there is an economic return of approximately US$8 in the economy. It is not merely money spent; it is money invested. It is also a political investment. Some may recall President Lula of Brazil, who was even brought back into office by popular demand after imprisonment. This was largely due to the social protection programmes he implemented, which lifted many Brazilians from poverty into middle-income status. This Bill is something we must strongly support. There was a Bill that was sponsored by the late Hon. Laboso, which I participated in, but it was not implemented. Having this Bill is the right thing. I hope we are serious about it this time. Social protection is in all areas of our lives. The basic necessities of survival like food, shelter, education and The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1558919,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558919/?format=api",
"text_counter": 159,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
"speaker": null,
"content": "healthcare are all elements of social protection. Kenya has a lot of ongoing social protection programmes. This Bill will help to organise and coordinate all of them. A working social protection programme will be a huge relief to politicians and Members of Parliament. We contribute to all social ventures in families. A proper social protection programme will address some of them. We have many ongoing social protection programmes in this country. However, most of us think of the Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC), Older Persons Cash Transfer (OPCT) Programme and the Persons with Severe Disability Cash Transfer (PWSD-CT) Programme. However, school feeding programmes, agricultural subsidies and social health insurance like SHA are also forms of social protection and security. They have challenges because they lack a legal framework to take care of them. For example, a challenge that affects the cash transfers is the disbursement. We have never gone through a Session without a Member raising an issue on OPCT Programme citing irregular disbursement. Despite trying direct payments through mobile money, we still have a problem with the disbursement. Lack of coordination is the other challenge affecting these social protection programmes. When there is no proper coordination, a lot of double-dipping happens. You will find one family benefiting from multiple social protection programmes. Therefore, there is need for some coordination. Pure theft or graft is another challenge that presents as an outcome of poor organisation. Beneficiaries of the cash transfer programmes lose their allocation from the very people who help them, including the officers running the programmes. Some monies even get lost in the banks. Another challenge is lack of exit programmes. These are useful for change in circumstances. Orphans and vulnerable children should exit upon attaining a certain age. Income-generating programmes can also be used to absorb families which benefit from cash transfer programmes. I was involved in programmes where mothers and women groups which were beneficiaries of social protection programmes started their businesses, and they did not need assistance. We do not have these exit programmes. Our beneficiaries become perennial beneficiaries without exiting these programmes. We need to look at this. We also do not have the systems of responding to socio-economic changes. As a Member said earlier, we started with Ksh1,500, and this House moved it to Ksh2,000 through a Motion. Maybe, we need to make it even higher. We do not respond to the socio-economic changes like inflation. We need a system that will take care of this. I support this Bill because it addresses the very important issues that I have been talking about. Clause 5 of the Bill addresses Article 43 of the Constitution. It says that the implementation of the Bill shall be guided by equity, social justice, inclusiveness, non- discrimination, rights-based approach, and accessibility and sustainability of social protection interventions. Therefore, this Bill is very appropriate. Clause 7 of the Bill establishes a Board. Its functions are listed in Clause 8 of the Bill. It will design, implement, monitor and evaluate social protection interventions and programmes. It will also establish and maintain a social protection registry, and ensure continuous collection and dis-aggregation of data. We must appeal to our colleagues to support this Bill. When it comes to the Committee of the whole House, we will move amendments. We need to anchor our social protection programmes in this Bill. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1558920,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558920/?format=api",
"text_counter": 160,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you. Member for Laikipia East."
},
{
"id": 1558921,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558921/?format=api",
"text_counter": 161,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Laikipia East, TSP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Bill because it is timely. We all note that we have social protection programmes in this country. For the first time, there will be order because of this Bill. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}
]
}