{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=137742","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=137740","results":[{"id":1393821,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393821/?format=json","text_counter":251,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Wambua","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13199,"legal_name":"Enoch Kiio Wambua","slug":"enoch-kiio-wambua"},"content":"Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, some of us are old Members in this House. If you want us to just refer to point of orders, then I will refer you to Standing Order No.105 on statement of facts. However, let us not kill debates by always pushing Members to refer to point of orders. The Member for Nandi has made a very serious statement on our country being auctioned through the Expressway project."},{"id":1393822,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393822/?format=json","text_counter":252,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Wakili Sigei","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Intervention taken Sen. Wambua. Proceed, Sen. Cherarkey to substantiate that."},{"id":1393823,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393823/?format=json","text_counter":253,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Cherarkey","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13217,"legal_name":"Cherarkey K Samson","slug":"cherarkey-k-samson"},"content":"Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I note the change on the seat. I said, maybe because of PPPs agreement. Sen. Wambua has been with me the longest in this House and I wish him well as he transits to be the Kitui Governor. What I wanted to know is the contents. Sen. Wambua knows that the conceptualisation of the current expressway was not a Kenya Kwanza Government project. It was in that ‘Handshake Government’ in the previous year, with His Excellency Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka and the rest of Azimio members. What I am saying is “maybe auctioned.” That is why, even as we push for Arror Dam, Kimwarer Dam, Gitare Reservoir, Mwache, Karemeno and other major projects to go through PPP agreements. My argument is that, as we do PPPs, we must be very careful so that we do not end up auctioning the country. That is what I said. I was giving an example. How many of us know what Kenya Moja, which runs expressway, collects? They have increased the charges. The other day I saw the Cabinet Secretary saying they should increase. Within six minutes I had paid Kshs250. What will happen to ordinary Kenyans that use that expressway? Are we trying to define Kenyans in to class? That is my argument. We must be very careful. There is a book called The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, which says that they can come for your pound of flesh if you do not pay. I am happy the country has been able to service its public debt, both domestic and externally. If we had not serviced, as The Merchant of Venice in William Shakespeare says, they would come for our pound of flesh. We are not interested because if come, we will go the Sri Lanka way. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1393824,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393824/?format=json","text_counter":254,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Cherarkey","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13217,"legal_name":"Cherarkey K Samson","slug":"cherarkey-k-samson"},"content":"I know last week some of the Members were on their way to Shanghai. I heard of what happened, but I do not want to refer."},{"id":1393825,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393825/?format=json","text_counter":255,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"(Laughter)"},{"id":1393826,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393826/?format=json","text_counter":256,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Cherarkey","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13217,"legal_name":"Cherarkey K Samson","slug":"cherarkey-k-samson"},"content":"Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you need to protect me from the laughter of Sen. Olekina. On a light note, this weekend, Sen. Olekina has been a very good gentleman. I have seen him twice with His Excellency the President and I know all is well, especially in Narok County. This is because they are neighbours. I know he is the Senator of the President when he is in that region. It is important that they work with the electorate that vote in that region. Finally, I want to conclude on the issue of KQ. I am very disappointed that somebody who is paying the debt of KQ in Kathonzweni, Kajiado, Narok, Nyatike, Nandi, Uasin Gishu or Samburu have never boarded a plane."},{"id":1393827,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393827/?format=json","text_counter":257,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"(An hon. Senator spoke off record)"},{"id":1393828,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393828/?format=json","text_counter":258,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Cherarkey","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13217,"legal_name":"Cherarkey K Samson","slug":"cherarkey-k-samson"},"content":"I understand that the people in Nyatike and Migori, maybe their mode of transport is by air. However, where I come from, Kenyans are wondering why we pay for KQ which is on a terminal illness. We, as a country, must agree what we need to do with it. Do we nationalise or restructure? KQ must diversify its revenue streams. One of the most expensive air tickets in this in this region is KQ. That is why all the destinations are being taken over by Ethiopian Airways. We must restructure KQ. In the last Session, we wanted to nationalize. However, because of the pride of Africa, we thought KQ should remain as a national carrier as an identity. I read about the CEO of Ethiopian Airways. They have been able to do a turn around. What is happening with KQ? You are bringing foreigners who come and eat all the money. Sen. Olekina, served with me before in Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee. KQ always receives what we call adverse audit opinion. In private sector, when you receive an adverse opinion, especially in audit, you are fired. In this country, you are rewarded. That is what is happening with KQ. Do you know who owns KQ? We have Human Resource (HR) problems. The pilots are being frustrated. You have seen even instances where a plane was being donated and that plane can be easily converted to be cargo. We must be careful so that we do not use a lot of resources to try and flog a dead horse or donkey. I do not want to say a dead cow because most of us take care of cows and we equate our respect to cows. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we must restructure the issue of KQ. We must fire the board and work better with the pilots through Kenya Airline Pilots Authority (KALPA). We must improve and diversify revenue streams and offer competitive prices. Can you believe, it costs around Kshs2 million to fly first class with KQ to America or other exotic places. I know there are people who only fly to Santorini for other things, and they pay a lot of money. I do not know why Sen. Olekina is smiling because I normally see him in the USA and not Santorini because I frequent there. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1393829,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393829/?format=json","text_counter":259,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Cherarkey","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13217,"legal_name":"Cherarkey K Samson","slug":"cherarkey-k-samson"},"content":"Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I do not want to say much beyond that, but KQ must be restructured. There is no need of giving KQ a sum of Kshs80 billion while farmers, such as you and I, cannot access adequate fertilizer. Sen. Olekina, I expected you to push for tax-free subsidized animal feeds when you were with the President. Instead of subsidizing KQ, let us subsidize animal feeds, fertilizers and farm inputs. Let us get that money and put it in Hustler Fund, Jitume Programme, our roads and many others so that we get value for the money. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I conclude, I want to pass my deepest condolences to Kenyatta University. Some of us have friends and colleagues there. We pray and wish them well. We also saw that there was a tragic accident in Bomet, your county and we lost people. We also pass our deepest condolences and request that we return sanity to our roads so that all of us can reach home safe and sound. With those very many remarks, I beg to support."},{"id":1393830,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393830/?format=json","text_counter":260,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Olekina","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":407,"legal_name":"Ledama Olekina","slug":"ledama-olekina"},"content":"Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I will take very few minutes to try and demystify this Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy. I begin by thanking the Committee on Finance and Budget for doing a fantastic job. They have always been diligent in terms of trying to make sense of all these things. I think it behooves us as a House to try and use very simple terms for Kenyans out there to understand what exactly we are talking about. When you talk about Medium Term Debt Management Strategy, it is important for us to understand the consequences of it not being managed and implemented effectively. The Committee - I thank Sen. Faki for moving this report - highlighted on some of the management strategies that the Treasury is putting in place to be able to manage the debt of this country. Some of it might sound as if it is quantum physics, but we will attempt to really put it in simple terms for Kenyans out there to know what we are trying to manage. Number one, it is the basic thing that affects Kenyans. In this Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy, I see that the Government will be borrowing about 45 per cent of its budget deficit for Financial Year FY2024/2025 from local banks. What does that do to businessmen who are trying to build this economy? It makes it very expensive for them to borrow because financial institutions feel safer lending to the Government through bonds. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the first question you must ask and Kenyans must understand this, is that there are laws that we pass here that allow us to monitor. This is where I will concentrate my submissions on. To monitor this borrowing, the Treasury is required by law to submit reports constantly to both the National Assembly and the Senate on their borrowing. When they borrow, how does that affect liquidity in the market? Currently, the base interest rate given by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is 13 per cent. Being 13 per cent, banks are allowed by the laws that we make here to increase their lending rates by four per cent. Based on your credit, you will begin by negotiating and maybe, if you get anything below, you will, probably, get 16.9 per cent. However, is that the reality as we now speak? No. Just because the Government is borrowing locally 45 per cent of its The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."}]}