Dr. James Nyikal

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1611 to 1620 of 3161.

• 7 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: Hon. Chairlady, is it in order for those who are supporting the amendments to mislead the House that issues that are in the main Act are of the same power as those in the subsidiary legislation? It is not true. One bypasses Parliament and things can be done at the whims of the CS so long as the Committee agrees. The other one will have to come to Parliament. When Members say that putting in regulations is the same as having it in the Act, it is misleading the House. Is that in order? view
• 7 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I rise to support, though with some reservations which I will mention here. Before I do that, I must appreciate the work of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. I do understand how complex and time consuming it is, especially when we are discussing it at this time of the year. At this stage of Parliament, I think they have done a commendable job. I know the Constitution gives flexibility to have more than one supplementary budget in a year. In fact, we could have ... view
• 7 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: The other element that leads to pending budget is lack of Exchequer release. Sometimes we blame the spending agents or the ministries. What really happens is that what may be in the Budget may not be released to them and they end up with debts that they cannot repay. I appreciate that Kshs3.7 billion is going to the Strategic Grain Reserve. This is commendable because of the problem we are having now. But I do not think we should now look at abating the problem of food shortage now. We have to look at the issue. Why are we having ... view
• 7 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: I appreciate that some money has been targeted for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL). Again this is going to the food security and that is commendable. But again, ASAL areas are not new. This is something we have been talking about and we should look at it. I do appreciate that some money has been put for power transmission. It is important that as a country we have done a lot for rural electrification. There is large consumption of power. To put money there is appropriate but I notice that in western Kenya and Siaya area, there are a lot ... view
• 7 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: can solve a problem tomorrow. People who die when we have the crisis now will not come back to enjoy when we make corrections. As I said, I have listed the reservations that I have otherwise, I support and appreciate the work of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. I know what they go through. view
• 6 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Bill. The Companies Bill, 2015, as others have said, was such a huge document that one needed a basket to carry it to the House. However, it was an extremely important document. The amendments proposed here seek to refine what was an extremely important document. The whole purpose is to make the business environment in the country easier and to make business competitive so that we can attract investors both locally and from foreign destinations. Business is the essence of all nations. All the revenues and resources ... view
• 6 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: I also realise that it also tends to protect them, but the pretence that the directors do not know the consequences of their action in advance can no longer be accepted as a reason for not taking liability because Clause 16 of this Bill addresses that. It would be a travesty of justice if the directors said they undertook a certain transaction without knowing what the consequences would be and, therefore, making people to suffer. It would be against the known doctrine that ignorance is not a defence. Shareholders are the mainstay of many big companies and the main way ... view
• 6 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: shareholders and particularly the small ones. Again, this has been done in this Bill. When companies fall, the small shareholders usually lose out. Similarly, the minority shareholders suffer in the same way and they are protected in this Bill. view
• 6 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: If you look at this Bill, there are clauses which are important and we cannot go through all of them. Clause 11 requires a director to disclose any other company directorship he or she holds. This has been a big loophole in this country whereby people trade with themselves whether they are running public or State owned companies. They usually form companies on the side and transact business with themselves. You can recall a time in this country when we decided that some State assets should be disposed of. The same directors in the parastatals formed companies and acquired those ... view
• 6 Jun 2017 in National Assembly: Clause 12 indicates that there has to be clear declaration to avoid conflict of interest when dealing with matters of the company. Again, this is something which has been a major problem. The principle of conflict of interest has been abused and ignored to the extent that in some places it looks like there is nothing like conflict of interest. Therefore, bringing it in law is something which is necessary. If you look at the class of shareholders prior to this law coming into effect and now being amended in this Bill, the directors had the power to vary the ... view