Wednesday, 10th July, 2013

Order, hon. Senators. We need to determine if we have a quorum.

The Clerk of the Senate (Mr. Nyegenye) : Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have 19 hon. Senators in the House. We have a quorum.

Proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:- THAT, aware that unemployment is one of the major causes of insecurity and moral decadence in this country; noting with concern that the youth, who are the backbone of our society, are the most affected and that as a result many of them have become disillusioned and hopeless; noting further that assisting the youth to access employment would contribute towards the attainment of economic and social rights enshrined in Article 43 of the Constitution of Kenya; aware that Section 13 of the National Youth Service Act, Cap. 208, Laws of Kenya, vests power in the Minister responsible for the Service to divide the Service into branches, units and sub-units from time to time; the Senate urges the National Government to take measures to establish National Youth Service outlets in all counties where the youth who have completed secondary level of education and who may wish to enroll for courses offered by the Service could enroll and acquire necessary skills and further that graduates from

the Service be given the first priority whenever the two levels of Government recruit in areas where the graduates are qualified to serve.

Hon. Senators, this Motion was disposed of during the morning session. The Order Paper comes 12 hours before the business of the House.

Let us move on to the next Motion.

Hon. Senators, in the absence of Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o, the Senator for Bungoma County has intimated that he has standing instructions to do the minority party business at any one time.

The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Wetangula) : Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have a continuing trusteeship for my side of the House.

Professor, I am about to move your Motion.

I will move it. The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Wetangula) : You will move it?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have a continuing trusteeship for my side of the House. (Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o entered the Chamber) Professor, I am about to move your Motion.

I will move it. The Senate Minority Leader (

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:-

THAT, given the role that Harambee (voluntary contributions) has played in the development of our nation since Independence; aware that the original intentions of Harambee have been adulterated over time through corruption, deceit, bribery and misuse of funds raised; recognizing that elected leaders are those most affected by Harambee invitations thereby bearing the maximum burden of voluntary contributions for development; noting that these elected leaders pay tax like all other Kenyans; this House resolves to establish a Select Committee to prepare a Bill that will:-

I will do so. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am sorry for coming in late. I was delayed by the traffic. Let me, first, begin by thanking Sen. Daisy Kanainza Nyongesa – and that is a very beautiful name - for coming to my rescue this morning. Let me also thank my leader---

An hon. Member: Thank you for trying to---

Order, Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o! Do not allow yourself to be distracted by hon. Senators who do not have the Floor.

First of all, move the Motion and then you can give the gratitude to those hon. Senators who rescued you.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:-

THAT, given the role that Harambee (voluntary contributions) has played in the development of our nation since Independence; aware that the original intentions of Harambee have been adulterated over time through corruption, deceit, bribery and misuse of funds raised; recognizing that elected leaders are those most affected by Harambee invitations thereby bearing the maximum burden of voluntary contributions for development; noting that these elected leaders pay tax like all other Kenyans; this House resolves to establish a Select Committee to prepare a Bill that will:-

referring to

When I was in the Ministry of Planning and National Development, we did quantify the amount of resources raised in harambees every year, the amount of those resources that are used for genuine development and social welfare programmes. You will find that the money raised that goes into consumption competes almost on equal footing with the money that is raised for developmental or genuine social expenses. It means, therefore, that we are encouraging a consumptive society which is wasteful by taxing people from their pockets, money that they could use for saving. They have absolutely no control over this consumption. I realized this as early as 1978 when I was teaching at the university when I was invited by the Extra Mural Department. I went around the country giving lectures on harambee as a tax. The KANU Government was not very pleased. I was visited will all kinds of intimidation of trying to undermine the popular elected KANU Government then. Whether it was popularly elected or not is another issue.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the final analysis, when we say all this, harambee is a form of tax because people pay from their salaries, quite often by compulsion. Compulsion can be overt or covert. As an hon. Member of Parliament, you may find that all of a sudden you get a card at an hour like this, that you need to contribute to a harambee tomorrow. As Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale was intimating, if you refuse, you might subsequently be visited by very unpalatable consequences. You get intimidated and get from what should have been your savings and you pay a tax under compulsion. What we need to do, therefore, since the practice is there, is to be sane enough as lawmakers and lay a legal framework for doing this in a manner that one will serve noble goals and help the contributors to contribute properly.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, that is why I am proposing that we should determine the criteria that will qualify projects for which harambee contributions can be made. That criteria, obviously, in my own estimation, will eliminate, for example, pre-weddings, people who want to rescue wives from maternity homes, a job that they did nine months ago, and because they are proper marksmen, they successfully completed the initiative and nine months later, they should bear the consequences at a very personal level. Another thing that should be disqualified from harambee are things that are purely for consumption. When you are raising funds for pure consumption, I think that should not be allowed because it is not leading to accumulation or development.

Fourthly, things which should be disqualified are ad hoc things which are not properly thought of. There must be a process by which if you intend to raise funds publicly, then you report it to an institution or a set up that will then give you permission to do what you are doing. I do not want to say that we introduce a regimental system in society or a police kind of system, but surely, if you are going to raise funds in public domain, you should be able to be accountable to the public domain through a process by which you are given permission to do something like this. I know this may look rather draconian on my part, but when people go haywire in misusing an otherwise noble enterprise, then I think some form of control should be brought in because the State is there to regulate things. So, there must be a regulatory function of the State that will make voluntary contribution orderly and accountable.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I think

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Is the Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’- Nyong’o in order to refer to me as a rich man when he knows very well that he was my teacher and, in fact, I cannot be richer than him because he started working many years before me? We are also aware of his wealth in Kisumu, particularly his cows and goats.

“You have been given nine months notice. It is not fair for you to go around now with a begging bowl raising harambee for something which is purely personal.” This is a very illustrative story because whereas harambee was started as a community concept to handle community projects, it has swung to the extent that personal issues are being used to raise money through harambees. If a student is going abroad for education, it makes sense to hold a harambee for funds to be collected to help that student. If somebody is sick – I have gone through the experience. Being a Minister and having good insurance, I got support from both the insurance firm as well as the Government to get treated for cancer because it is an extremely expensive treatment. But there is another way we can handle this. If we have universal health insurance for all Kenyans, there would be no need whatsoever for the Government to step in with an ex-gratia fund, if, indeed, we have a robust, comprehensive social insurance to cover such things. We should avoid ad hoc collection of money for problems we can prepare for ahead of time in a society, as was said in Sessional Paper No.10 where we have mutual social responsibility. For such personal issues, like what I have just said, there should not be really any need for harambees. Also, for other needs like health, we should have a planned comprehensive social insurance to keep people away from having ad hoc collections when people need such help. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is also another area where harambees have been terribly misused. A young man intends to marry – of course, this is definitely a personal decision

When I was in the Ministry of Planning and National Development, we did quantify the amount of resources raised in harambees every year, the amount of those resources that are used for genuine development and social welfare programmes. You will find that the money raised that goes into consumption competes almost on equal footing with the money that is raised for developmental or genuine social expenses. It means, therefore, that we are encouraging a consumptive society which is wasteful by taxing people from their pockets, money that they could use for saving. They have absolutely no control over this consumption. I realized this as early as 1978 when I was teaching at the university when I was invited by the Extra Mural Department. I went around the country giving lectures on harambee as a tax. The KANU Government was not very pleased. I was visited will all kinds of intimidation of trying to undermine the popular elected KANU Government then. Whether it was popularly elected or not is another issue.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the final analysis, when we say all this, harambee is a form of tax because people pay from their salaries, quite often by compulsion. Compulsion can be overt or covert. As an hon. Member of Parliament, you may find that all of a sudden you get a card at an hour like this, that you need to contribute to a harambee tomorrow. As Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale was intimating, if you refuse, you might subsequently be visited by very unpalatable consequences. You get intimidated and get from what should have been your savings and you pay a tax under compulsion. What we need to do, therefore, since the practice is there, is to be sane enough as lawmakers and lay a legal framework for doing this in a manner that one will serve noble goals and help the contributors to contribute properly.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, that is why I am proposing that we should determine the criteria that will qualify projects for which harambee contributions can be made. That criteria, obviously, in my own estimation, will eliminate, for example, pre-weddings, people who want to rescue wives from maternity homes, a job that they did nine months ago, and because they are proper marksmen, they successfully completed the initiative and nine months later, they should bear the consequences at a very personal level. Another thing that should be disqualified from harambee are things that are purely for consumption. When you are raising funds for pure consumption, I think that should not be allowed because it is not leading to accumulation or development.

Fourthly, things which should be disqualified are ad hoc things which are not properly thought of. There must be a process by which if you intend to raise funds publicly, then you report it to an institution or a set up that will then give you permission to do what you are doing. I do not want to say that we introduce a regimental system in society or a police kind of system, but surely, if you are going to raise funds in public domain, you should be able to be accountable to the public domain through a process by which you are given permission to do something like this. I know this may look rather draconian on my part, but when people go haywire in misusing an otherwise noble enterprise, then I think some form of control should be brought in because the State is there to regulate things. So, there must be a regulatory function of the State that will make voluntary contribution orderly and accountable.

The second thing that I am proposing is to establish procedures for ensuring that harambee contributions are tax deductible. Previously when Members of Parliament were not taxed, we said, rather than pay tax directly, we shall pay tax in terms of supporting society through contributions. I think we did more than our fair share. I am sure Members of Parliament and Senators who have been there before know that we did more than our fair share. Now that we are actually paying tax – I saw my pay slip the other day – and it is heavy; it is not something you can take lightly, I think it would be unfair to pay another tax to harambee without being given the opportunity to make sure that it is tax deductible.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in more civilized societies, this is what people do and that is why rich men, like my friend, Sen. Mutahi Kagwe, established foundations. When you know you have money that the taxman is going to get, you say fine---

is a criminal offence. So, that kind of procedure will definitely help people to be more disciplined, both in terms of those who give and those who receive.

Finally, I am proposing that you provide clear directives on accounting for harambee collections and reporting in the use of which such collections are made. It is good in terms of development and for the Kenya Statistical Authority if such accountable documents are there. As the former Minister for Planning and National Development, I know that we will then be in a much better position to know exactly how philanthropic Kenyans are, if there are clear directives on accounting for harambee collections and reporting on the use of such collections.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will give you a practical example. At one point, we had a harambee at the Professional Centre for a school in my constituency then and we raised a lot of money. We must have raised something like Kshs1.4 million. But the people who were keeping the accounts, the next day they were telling us that we only raised Kshs800,

Actually, I thought for the fact that he was your teacher, then he knows you better.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you cannot be more correct, because I think the affluence of my dear student was quite evident in his younger days. Knowing that he is a prudent economist, he must have accumulated more after that rather than wasted it. So, I was just trying to imagine where he might be at this point in time. I think I am not wrong to say that, definitely, I do not think he has regressed; if anything he has developed further, but he enjoys the advantage of having visited me at home and knows the few goats and sheep that have since then been consumed by society in form of harambee.

is a criminal offence. So, that kind of procedure will definitely help people to be more disciplined, both in terms of those who give and those who receive.

Finally, I am proposing that you provide clear directives on accounting for harambee collections and reporting in the use of which such collections are made. It is good in terms of development and for the Kenya Statistical Authority if such accountable documents are there. As the former Minister for Planning and National Development, I know that we will then be in a much better position to know exactly how philanthropic Kenyans are, if there are clear directives on accounting for harambee collections and reporting on the use of such collections.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will give you a practical example. At one point, we had a harambee at the Professional Centre for a school in my constituency then and we raised a lot of money. We must have raised something like Kshs1.4 million. But the people who were keeping the accounts, the next day they were telling us that we only raised Kshs800,

which will become part of the laws of Kenya and which from now on will make harambee a much more noble initiative than what it is at the moment.

I beg to move and to request

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to second this Motion. From the outset, it must be understood very clearly that this Motion does not seek to abolish harambee. It seeks to bring sanity to the management and running of the harambee system. In supporting the Motion, we have many examples on how the harambee spirit has been abused. I remember a lady magistrate one time who organized a pre-wedding harambee, there was no wedding planned, and she continued receiving donations towards a non-existent wedding from, including criminals appearing before her for close to six months. She was, of course, sacked by the Judiciary then. These are some of the abuses that have visited this harambee spirit.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Is the hon. Senator for Bungoma in order to give an example of the Senator for Nyeri when we know that the Senator for Bungoma is one of the richest Senators in this House? If he wants me to mention when and how, I know about his assets and I can say it here. The Senate Minority Leader (

Mr. Speaker, Sir, she can very well go on and mention.

Order Sen. Wetangula! I have given an opportunity to Sen. Murkomen.

Order, hon. Senators! I know that citizens and especially public officers are supposed to declare their wealth. However, I am not sure if one Senator could be privy to the declarations forms of another Senator. This is not possible. So, hon. Senator for Nyeri, you are completely out of order. The Senate Minority Leader (

It is time we reined in and sanitized harambees. They have been adulterated and a law to regulate them is desirable, without depriving the very needy who benefit from harambees.

With those many remarks, I beg to second.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you may not have been watching. However, you have seen how my distinguished colleague from Nyeri was smiling with total satisfaction when I referred to his wealth.

I thought you are already addressing the Speaker? You do not need to repeat.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. On a more substantive note but related to what Sen. No.1 has said, Sen. G.G. Kariuki, I have no problem with the Motion. However, there is a growing trend now. This is the fourth Motion with names of Senators assigned to do something. Considering that this trend is likely to continue, what is the criteria of coming up with names and what considerations should be put in place including gender, regional balance and party balances, among other things, in dealing with Motions of this nature?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Coming on the heels of what Sen. Murkomen has said, the composition of ad hoc Committees requires human resources and funding, obviously, from the Parliamentary Service Commission. As we want to pass this Motion, to create another Committee, is it lost to Prof. Anyang’- Nyong’o that in the second-last Parliament, hon. Koigi Wamwere also led a similar Committee that went around the country and collected views of the public, and all that information is in the library? Would it not be prudent that instead of us forming another Committee, we pass the Motion, but ask that Committee to just go and pick from the findings of the Committee, that was led by hon. Koigi Wamwere?

The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Wetangula) : On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Although I do not speak for Prof. Anyang’-Nyong’o, I thought that the general practice is that the Member who brings a Motion and seeks to set up a Committee such as this, as a matter of courtesy, of course, would talk to Members who are in the Committee. But, normally, one would put together a team that he is able to work with, because when we pass a Motion such as this, its sponsor is invariably the Chair of such a Committee.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Koigi Committee in the Ninth Parliament was only looking at one narrow agenda; harambees and corruption. Hon. Koigi passed a unanimous verdict with his Committee, that harambees had immensely contributed to the growth of

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is a matter of public notoriety as we say it in law that the distinguished Senator for Kakamega, in his popular pass time, engages in bull fighting. One time, I asked Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi; what would Dr. Bonny Khalwale be if he did not go to school? Dr. Kituyi said; he would have died in a bull fight a long time ago.

corruption in Kenya, and recommended its discontinuation. I think that this is different within the context of devolution. I also think that it is in the right House. We are not discontinuing harambees, but saying that we have now enough resources going to the counties that can do some of the things that harambees do, so that it can be seen in a wider perspective than the Koigi Committee.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to encourage Sen. G.G. Kariuki, given his vast experience, that he will be a very valuable Member of such a Committee, if we pass the Motion; whether or not he was asked.

It is time we reined in and sanitized harambees. They have been adulterated and a law to regulate them is desirable, without depriving the very needy who benefit from harambees.

With those many remarks, I beg to second.

What is it, Sen. G. G.?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I think it is high time that hon. Senators knew who the Speaker is and who is not. No one should interrupt the job of the Speaker.

I am just trying to find out what would happen if your name was listed on such a list without being consulted.

Mr. Speaker, could you advise me?

I thought you are already addressing the Speaker? You do not need to repeat.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. On a more substantive note but related to what Sen. No.1 has said, Sen. G.G. Kariuki, I have no problem with the Motion. However, there is a growing trend now. This is the fourth Motion with names of Senators assigned to do something. Considering that this trend is likely to continue, what is the criteria of coming up with names and what considerations should be put in place including gender, regional balance and party balances, among other things, in dealing with Motions of this nature?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Coming on the heels of what Sen. Murkomen has said, the composition of ad hoc Committees requires human resources and funding, obviously, from the Parliamentary Service Commission. As we want to pass this Motion, to create another Committee, is it lost to Prof. Anyang’- Nyong’o that in the second-last Parliament, hon. Koigi Wamwere also led a similar Committee that went around the country and collected views of the public, and all that information is in the library? Would it not be prudent that instead of us forming another Committee, we pass the Motion, but ask that Committee to just go and pick from the findings of the Committee, that was led by hon. Koigi Wamwere? The Senate Minority Leader (

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Since you raised the question, I think we are taking a very dangerous path in this House. I expected that these would be contributions made in terms of the comments. If hon. Members felt that there would be, perhaps, amendments to be raised, then they will have the opportunity to raise them and include other more names or remove other names.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, if we start a trend in this House where we will start talking about whether the composition of hon. Members shows anything to do with CORD--- I do not think in Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’Nyong’o’s proposal – and he is here to speak for himself – he decided to choose just CORD Members. I think he was looking at regional balancing, and if there is a problem, this can easily be raised by way of amendments.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to request that we proceed with debate on this Motion and any hon. Member who feels aggrieved can raise it by way of amendments.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I think there are times when you are trying to form Select Committees and depending on the circumstances under which

Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me apologize to Sen. G.G. Kariuki, that I took advantage of my long acquaintance with him and just assumed that this is an opportunity that he would not miss, but we could discuss it with him. Indeed, the spirit of a Motion like this is that it is also subject to amendment in the House. So, these things are not cast in stone.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, but, further, with regard to Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale’s point, it is not just the Koigi Report. We have volumes and volumes of work on harambee, some of which I did when I was at the university. But now, we want to use this material for purposes of lawmaking. I think that it is important that we realize that the lawmaking process must use some raw materials that exist, like documents and so on. So, that really should not be reason not to do this. It is much more of a reason to access that material and use it for the purposes for which this Motion is intended.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the United States both the Senate and Congress itself are always there to make law. Quite often when somebody has an idea for writing a Bill, he approaches colleagues in the Senate or Congress to work on it. There are people who would offer to do Bills by themselves, like Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has just done a Bill for the House. You can do it yourself, but in my own preference, this is an issue where a self- propelled Bill would not be as rich as a Bill in which a small group of Senators do this.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, finally, let us open ourselves to the fact that our work as lawmakers cannot be impeded by putting a rule that we can only establish so many select and ad hoc committees. We cannot do that. We will have to create as many ad hoc committees as possible for purposes of lawmaking, because we are here to make law. I do not think that the number of ad hoc committees is something that should be frightening to the Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

that is being done, maybe you have penned a Motion and you just want to make sure that you have a composition for a Select Committee. For example, even when a Motion was moved in this House and you want to form a Select Committee and you are looking for Members in the House, you sometimes reach out to those who you are easily able to access so that you can actually even go through the stage of asking them for permission to join that particular Select Committee. But I think also the circumstances under which we work might make it difficult, especially when you are not able to meet all the hon. Members and give them that information in good time. I think it is unfortunate that this is being interpreted as an issue of having a composition across the board. I would like to believe that, that was not the intention as that Select Committee was being composed and, also, there is an opportunity to amend this Motion. That is why it is on the Floor.

Thank you very much.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to put my friend, the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, at ease. I, in no way, intended to downplay the important role of the Majority in the House. But as Sen. (Dr.) Zani said, when I drafted this Motion, there were very few hon. Members in the House that afternoon and we agreed that, at least, let us start with a number and they can increase when people are here and we have concurred. It was a very practical thing. There was no sinister or ill-motives behind it. You notice that the number is only seven; it can go up to

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am glad that you have made your own decision over this matter. But I hope that I will not be asking too much if I asked you to clearly say what the Standing Orders say. We need to go through the Standing Orders and find out how a name can be included. If it does not appear in the Standing Orders, we need to revise the Standing Orders, so that they are clear regarding a situation like this one where a name has been included. The Standing Orders should allow that name to remain or be removed.

Kariuki, because you may wish to make an amendment but if the House refuses to grant you that amendment, what do you do? So, the only thing you can do is that, if the Committee is constituted, then you could just boycott the meetings; then it will be reported that you have been absent for a number of sittings. That is the surest way to get your name off the Committee.

But it also appears to me, just as much as Sen. G.G. Kariuki wants his name out, that same argument is basically the opposite of the argument brought about by the Senate Majority Leader, because then Sen. G.G. Kariuki comes from the Majority and the Majority side wants more membership. So, obviously, it is a contradiction; desiring more membership for the Majority, and the Majority wants to become a minority by seeking to have a name from the Majority side deleted.

What is it, Sen. Ong’era?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Since you raised the question, I think we are taking a very dangerous path in this House. I expected that these would be contributions made in terms of the comments. If hon. Members felt that there would be, perhaps, amendments to be raised, then they will have the opportunity to raise them and include other more names or remove other names.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, if we start a trend in this House where we will start talking about whether the composition of hon. Members shows anything to do with CORD--- I do not think in Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’Nyong’o’s proposal – and he is here to speak for himself – he decided to choose just CORD Members. I think he was looking at regional balancing, and if there is a problem, this can easily be raised by way of amendments.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to request that we proceed with debate on this Motion and any hon. Member who feels aggrieved can raise it by way of amendments.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Order! Let us have Sen. (Dr.) Zani and then Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’Nyong’o. Thereafter, it will be contributions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I think there are times when you are trying to form Select Committees and depending on the circumstances under which

that is being done, maybe you have penned a Motion and you just want to make sure that you have a composition for a Select Committee. For example, even when a Motion was moved in this House and you want to form a Select Committee and you are looking for Members in the House, you sometimes reach out to those who you are easily able to access so that you can actually even go through the stage of asking them for permission to join that particular Select Committee. But I think also the circumstances under which we work might make it difficult, especially when you are not able to meet all the hon. Members and give them that information in good time. I think it is unfortunate that this is being interpreted as an issue of having a composition across the board. I would like to believe that, that was not the intention as that Select Committee was being composed and, also, there is an opportunity to amend this Motion. That is why it is on the Floor.

Thank you very much.

Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’Nyong’o.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to put my friend, the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, at ease. I, in no way, intended to downplay the important role of the Majority in the House. But as Sen. (Dr.) Zani said, when I drafted this Motion, there were very few hon. Members in the House that afternoon and we agreed that, at least, let us start with a number and they can increase when people are here and we have concurred. It was a very practical thing. There was no sinister or ill-motives behind it. You notice that the number is only seven; it can go up to

Order, hon. Members! Let us just dispose of this. Let me start from the last contribution in reference to Sen. G.G. Kariuki. Our Standing Orders do not provide for what you do if you find yourself in a list that you think you do not belong. So, the Chair cannot help you there. But the Standing Orders have also an avenue called ‘amendments.’ So, if you really feel strongly that you do not want to belong to the Committee, all you need to do is to bring an amendment to the Chair and I will duly grant you the opportunity to prosecute that amendment to delete your name. If the rest of the Senators allow it, then your name will be deleted. But every Senator belongs to the House and every other Senator will give you an opportunity to serve if he or she thinks that you have a contribution to make. It is up to the entire House to make the final decision. It might not even be your personal decision, Sen. G.G.

Kariuki, because you may wish to make an amendment but if the House refuses to grant you that amendment, what do you do? So, the only thing you can do is that, if the Committee is constituted, then you could just boycott the meetings; then it will be reported that you have been absent for a number of sittings. That is the surest way to get your name off the Committee.

But it also appears to me, just as much as Sen. G.G. Kariuki wants his name out, that same argument is basically the opposite of the argument brought about by the Senate Majority Leader, because then Sen. G.G. Kariuki comes from the Majority and the Majority side wants more membership. So, obviously, it is a contradiction; desiring more membership for the Majority, and the Majority wants to become a minority by seeking to have a name from the Majority side deleted.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Motion and, really, I would like to wonder aloud; how amazing it is that 50 years from the time harambee was introduced in this country whereupon billions of shillings have been collected, we have been able to operationalize the process without law. It is, therefore, very gratifying that the honorable Senator for Kisumu has now commenced the process that will now give us a law whose time is long overdue.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to use this opportunity to remind the rest of us that the gains we have made in this country because of harambees are so much that this Committee should be expanded to its fullest so that we can exploit every opportunity to make sure that this law is perfect. When I go to my community, harambee has done more good in my region than the Government. Even great institutions like Masinde Muliro University in Kakamega were built through harambee. It started off as Western College (WECO) . There are other great institutions like Sang’alo Technical Training Institute, which started the same way.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, great schools like Musingu High School and Friends School, Kamusinga, in Western Province have all been built by harambees. Even in my own profession, I know that harambee knows no limit between the poor and the rich. A great hospital like Nairobi Hospital has been built, to a great extent, through harambee. We had

a very successful project there called “Buy a Brick” where people were free to bring in money on the assumption that they were bringing in one or more bricks. We should, therefore, today be deliberating not on whether to make harambee something which is legal or not, but we should be creating the insulation that will make it impossible for people to abuse public funds.Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you look at the behaviour of the committees that manage harambees – the so-called steering committees – soliciting for funds, during the time of soliciting for funds, these committees approach the public but once the money has been realized, they start treating that money as if they are private funds. It will, therefore, be important that in this Bill, it should be made clear that monies realized from harambees are public funds and they should even, to a greater extent, be subjected to the Public Finance Management Act.Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have to rethink the issue that has been vexing us this afternoon, on the number of ad hoc Committees because, to me, this means that if the Senate must rise to its calling, then it would be important that the Office of the Speaker of the Senate should fight and ensure that every Senator has got a fully fledged office where the Senate employs a research officer who will be doing some of this work that we want to use Committees by way also of collecting and collating information.Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you look at part “b,” where Professor wants to establish procedures for ensuring that harambee contributions are tax deductable, it calls into question the benefits of the abolition of harambees during the electoral process as enshrined in the Elections Act. Beneficial as it was, if we were to think through further and align the Elections Act with the spirit of part “b” as envisaged by Professor, there would be nothing wrong in saying that anybody who wants to run for office should have his contributions in harambees traced backwards five years to the election to see whether he was complying with part “b” of this particular Motion. This will make it possible for drug traffickers who have now gone into the decent profession of leadership of this country – they have sneaked in because they use proceeds from drug trafficking to buy their way into leadership – these kinds of people will find it difficult because this will be exposed if part “b” was used.Mr. Speaker, Sir, regarding the issue of drug traffickers sneaking into the leadership of this country, I have no ill-intentions towards anybody neither do I have anybody in mind, but I am just begrudging the fact that none other than the President himself had to make a pronouncement that he was going to deport all foreign drug traffickers. I cheered him, but I wondered why he is only focusing on foreign drug traffickers. He should have extended the same to the local ones so that we rid our country of---

much as they give those funds, they do not expect any sort of accountability from the people concerned. Therefore, over time, there has not been a need to maintain some sort of accountability or come up with mechanisms for accountability in how public funds are used. Even when it came to times of elections, various leaders would be seen to be campaigning by the amounts of money they are able to give.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Public Officer Ethics Act actually outlawed personal involvement of public officers in organizing harambees. At the end of day, harambees would begin to get their value and be appreciated. When we are talking about leadership and you are misinformed in terms of selecting leaders who have money, those might not be the ones necessarily who have the right qualities for leadership. Incidentally, various studies have shown that when people were asked, on the basis of understanding the Constitution, as to who the good leaders were, some thought that leaders are those who are able to give more money. This can be very misleading.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Motion is very critical because we should not kill harambees, but only kill the form which they have taken. We should move towards more formalisation of harambees. It is going to be difficult not for the small-scale level of harambees, but for the more formalised and large-scale harambees. We need to have a structure to know which ones are the more formalized ones because we are not going to control impromptu harambees which can be done during the naming of a child. For the very formalised process, it is important for us to determine the criteria so that for those specific ones, it is very clear that they have to have a particular process and the money collected can be accounted for. At the end of the day, the whole idea of regulation is to ensure that a certain amount of efficiency is put into place. The money should be used for what it has been raised for. Right from the beginning, the indicators and parameters for the use of that money should be laid out very clearly. It will also be able to protect the agenda for the beneficiary groups or persons. It will also put in place administrative and legal regulations that are going to make it possible for a follow up mechanism to ensure that at the end of the day, harambee collections and its reporting is done in a way that is accountable, in a way that is gracious and in a way that helps harambees to gain the respectability they started with from the beginning.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Is Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale in order to advocate for a violation of the Constitution when it guarantees that Kenyan citizens must be protected and, in any case, where would we deport Kenyans to? We should send them to jail.

I agree completely with Sen. Wetangula. I also wondered for a moment. You cannot deport Kenyans. Where would we deport them to?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I very well understand from where you are seated and where Sen. Wetangula is coming from. There is the medical aspect to drug trafficking. In the United States of America (USA) , it is so serious that the Republic of Panama surrendered its own President. He was deported from the Republic of Panama and taken to the USA. So, all these drug traffickers should actually be taken--- The Senate Minority Leader (

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Is it in order for Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale to mislead the House when everybody knows that the former President of Panama was actually abducted from his country by USA? There was a raid and he was abducted. There was no surrender by his citizens to USA.

my wishes are being taken care of. I do not want to be a Member of this Committee. Talking about the Motion, before we move to formalize or to codify harambee, we have to ask ourselves; what was the purpose of harambee from the word go? What was the philosophy behind harambee? As I understand it, people were supposed to sit together and those who could afford to assist others did so willingly without being compelled by anybody. There was no law to compel anybody to do this. In fact, the intention was not to bring law into the issue of harambee because it was a voluntarily exercise. If you wanted to give me something if I had a project in the name of harambee, you were free to do so.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I agree that quite a number of people made use of harambee to do other things which were not supposed to be done. In fact, in the Koigi Wamwere Report and many other reports, including mine, harambee contributed quite a lot to corruption in this country. It is harambee which messed the politics of this country. This is because those who had a lot of money used it to make their names or to show others that they were the only people who were able to assist them. In fact, they forced the public to believe that they loved them too much. That is why they were taking too much money to them. This changed the harambee spirit to something else.

If you codify harambee the way the Mover of this Motion wants it done, I think it will have no meaning; it will cease to be harambee. It will be a kind of forced decision of taking other people’s money. If this Motion on harambee is going to be considered with a view to making a law which will control harambee, I think we need to think twice. For example, if people want to build a church and they request their members to contribute, there is no harm in doing so. We should not appear to be interfering with the peace of the people because those who do not want to contribute to harambee should not bring in a law to discourage others who would want to contribute to harambee because this is a voluntary exercise. I think it should remain so.

What are you formalizing? If, for example, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has a harambee in his county and he wants me to donate some money, why should we sit together with him and follow a certain formality which was created by the Senate? Do we lack jobs to do that we are now interfering with the freedom of individuals? Unless this money is found to have been stolen, we have no business interfering with what people want to do with their money. That is what I believe and, of course, it does not have to be the belief of everybody.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I oppose this Motion even if it is amended to remove my name. This Motion is not appropriate. We need to concentrate on matters which are not going to interfere with individual decisions.

I beg to oppose.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to join Senators who have spoken before in thanking Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o for bringing this Motion at this time. If you really look at the historical videos and films of the years when Kenya began, you can see the motivation of the spirit in which the harambee movement and harambee activities started. Most of the institutions that we have in Kenya today that have produced the men and women you see here were build in the spirit of harambee. This has been done willingly from the hearts of the people of Kenya, but noting the way it has been abused in some corners by some people, when Kenyans are now 40 million as opposed to

Mr. Speaker, Sir, he was a military leader. He was actually the effective leader of the country, but he never described himself as the President of Panama.

the almost 10 to 12 million by the time we attained Independence, there were more sincere people then than now. There is no harm in formalizing a ritual or a procedure that has been used in our country, whether willingly or unwillingly.

Where I come from in West Pokot, we now have over 2,000 students who are pursuing privately sponsored programmes in the universities. Most of their school fees is raised through harambees which are done between September and January. This is the time we know that there are crops in the farm and the prices of animals are better. To us, we support this idea because in our county without this harambee spirit, we would not be where we are today. Our schools are not as equipped as other schools. We do not have sufficient teachers to the extent that when we get results for Form Four, most students have a mean grade of C+, B- and B. These are candidates that are supposed to go to university, but because the Government cannot give them funding through the Higher Education Loans Board, we have to chip in through the harambee spirit.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Bill that is proposed through this Motion would be very beneficial to the people of Kenya. If there are places in Kenya which have been built or have other ways of getting funds and they have built their own infrastructure, this Bill should be looked at critically and supported although the composition can be improved by the two leaderships. But that does not remove or negate the spirit that we are trying to introduce here. You can even remember some of the dispensaries that were build in my neighbouring country Turkana prior to the introduction of the CDF funds; they were essentially done through communal spirit where people brought money through the harambee spirit. A number of our students who are now studying in the United Kingdom, China, India and many other places, are there because of this harambee spirit that has been with us. The Kenya Government has formalized a number of small SACCOs so that we have cooperative movements. This voluntary way which is done openly should be encouraged. We are the only country I think in the world leading in this harambee activity. Prior to the last general elections, because of the need to mobilize people to do various activities, that was harambee and we are in this House because of that spirit. So, we cannot run away from it. I would say that we move on with it and be able to control some of the avenues that corrupt practices have been coming through, deceit and misuse of funds. This can assist us to curtail and deal with people who have been known to have messed up with people’s public funds.

As it is now, with this harambee spirit going on, if there is some misuse of public funds, you do not have any genuine law that you can use to arrest them and be able to deal with them. Some of us will stand with this and say that we proceed with it. In some places when you are pushing an idea, they want to see some particular person in that harambee not because of your money, but as an example to drive that idea.

I support the Motion.

Order hon. Senators! Before I call on the next contributor, I wish to take this opportunity to wish all our Muslim brothers and sisters within the Senate, in our Parliament and across the country Ramadhan Kareem during this holy month of Ramadhan. I want to thank Sen. Hassan for reminding the Chair to do what I had actually intended to do.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. First and foremost, I support this Motion. Whether we like it or not, harambee has become a phenomenon that is accepted as a way of culture or a way of life in Kenya on literally every front. As the Mover of the Motion intends, we need to streamline this important industry because it is a multi-billion shilling industry that needs to have some form and order. I do believe, in addition to setting up criteria for projects that qualify for harambee contributions, we must stipulate the objects of fundraising. Fundraising must be an act of philanthropy by people who are well endowed and who wish to voluntarily support general causes that improve the well being of society. Harambee can be a matter of CSR by top corporates in this country; be it Safaricom and other huge profit making organizations that might entrust themselves in giving back to society. But harambee must never be about politics.

For a very long time, the political class has been synonymous with harambees and the politicians in totality are taken to be private avenues for development. I can tell you, including yourself and Members of this Senate on a daily basis, even those who are looking at their Short Message Services (SMS) now, it is likely that somebody is asking for a contribution towards fees for their child, a medical bill, et cetera. As we streamline this industry, we must create interest in people to generate funds that can support some of the development work around education and the social well being without necessarily placing the absolute burden on the political class in its entirety. I think it has prejudiced our political environment for a very long time. Many times we have got less than the leaders that we deserve as a society and a country. People must be told that harambee is not just about a politician.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I remember a situation where there was an order in some public housing for people to vacate. They wanted to rush to court to get interim orders to stop the eviction. They called me as the Senator for the County of Mombasa. This was because of a debt of Kshs20,000. I asked them how many they were in the neighbourhood and if they were working for certain institutions. They said that they were about 500 residents. I asked them to contribute each Kshs400 and whether that would not be cheaper than one politician giving them the entire amount of money. I also thought that this idea would save their essence of survival or existence. So, I requested them to do so. It must be made clear in the minds of Kenyan people that this is not just about the politician because you gave him your vote. It must be a social obligation for all of us to participate effectively in supporting our community.

I have friends who have been in productive employment for a longer period than I have been. I know their net earnings and worth, but if faced by such an issue, they call me and tell me that there is somebody who requires my support. I always ask them why they cannot also support that person because this is about our social obligation in its entirety. As we proceed, we must emancipate the perception of our people that this cannot only be about politicians. If this is about politicians then those who are less endowed in life will not have an opportunity to step in the corridors of the Senate, the National Assembly or any other corridor of power that requires elective political competition.

I have seen ward representatives who hail from certain wards. Their tribulations are known, but the minute they declare that they want to become ward representatives,

even their neighbours who know that they potentially slept hungry last night, gives them a structure for school fees. Can they lead the community no matter the intentions they have and the sacrifices they can make to the society?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

What is it, Sen. Hassan?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I want to bring to your attention whether you are aware that today is the beginning of the month of Ramadhan across the world. As the third highest member of the organization of Government after the President and the Deputy President, you must take that opportunity as the Chair to wish the Muslims a healthy Ramadhan.

Point noted. Sen. G.G. Kariuki.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to say something about this Motion. I know it will be amended to remove my name and replace it with another. That is my information. It has not reached you , but there is that proposal. I can now speak freely on this Motion because my intentions and

my wishes are being taken care of. I do not want to be a Member of this Committee. Talking about the Motion, before we move to formalize or to codify harambee, we have to ask ourselves; what was the purpose of harambee from the word go? What was the philosophy behind harambee? As I understand it, people were supposed to sit together and those who could afford to assist others did so willingly without being compelled by anybody. There was no law to compel anybody to do this. In fact, the intention was not to bring law into the issue of harambee because it was a voluntarily exercise. If you wanted to give me something if I had a project in the name of harambee, you were free to do so.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I agree that quite a number of people made use of harambee to do other things which were not supposed to be done. In fact, in the Koigi Wamwere Report and many other reports, including mine, harambee contributed quite a lot to corruption in this country. It is harambee which messed the politics of this country. This is because those who had a lot of money used it to make their names or to show others that they were the only people who were able to assist them. In fact, they forced the public to believe that they loved them too much. That is why they were taking too much money to them. This changed the harambee spirit to something else.

If you codify harambee the way the Mover of this Motion wants it done, I think it will have no meaning; it will cease to be harambee. It will be a kind of forced decision of taking other people’s money. If this Motion on harambee is going to be considered with a view to making a law which will control harambee, I think we need to think twice. For example, if people want to build a church and they request their members to contribute, there is no harm in doing so. We should not appear to be interfering with the peace of the people because those who do not want to contribute to harambee should not bring in a law to discourage others who would want to contribute to harambee because this is a voluntary exercise. I think it should remain so.

What are you formalizing? If, for example, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has a harambee in his county and he wants me to donate some money, why should we sit together with him and follow a certain formality which was created by the Senate? Do we lack jobs to do that we are now interfering with the freedom of individuals? Unless this money is found to have been stolen, we have no business interfering with what people want to do with their money. That is what I believe and, of course, it does not have to be the belief of everybody.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I oppose this Motion even if it is amended to remove my name. This Motion is not appropriate. We need to concentrate on matters which are not going to interfere with individual decisions.

I beg to oppose.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to join Senators who have spoken before in thanking Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o for bringing this Motion at this time. If you really look at the historical videos and films of the years when Kenya began, you can see the motivation of the spirit in which the harambee movement and harambee activities started. Most of the institutions that we have in Kenya today that have produced the men and women you see here were build in the spirit of harambee. This has been done willingly from the hearts of the people of Kenya, but noting the way it has been abused in some corners by some people, when Kenyans are now 40 million as opposed to

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I want to request Sen. Joy Gwendo to second the amendment to this Motion.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to second the amendment that Sen. Ong’era has moved. This is because in this House most of the Senators have had the experience of harambees in their areas. So, if we bring Senators from diverse origins, we will have the expertise and experience put together, to bring a Bill that will move this Senate to where we want it to go and help Kenyans.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to second.

The Senate Minority Leader

(Sen. Wetangula)

: Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to support the amendment.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, given the earlier sentiments expressed by the distinguished Senator for Laikipia, it is only fair that we exclude him from the Committee, although the reasons that he gave for not wanting to serve were far from convincing. But we must respect his views, so that we can move forward.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the additional names are also born out of consultations, to see that we have a balance from both sides of the House, which I think we do achieve by the inclusion of the new names. I have no doubt that the gender parity is also equally achieved and that the additional Members to the Committee will add value in helping to generate and engineer a new law that can help regulate harambees.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it must be made very clear, once again, that Prof. Anyang’-Nyong’o’s Motion does not in any way intend to abolish harambees. Everybody who has spoken here, has talked about the many good things that harambee has contributed in the development of our country. Equally, Members have spoken about the abuses that harambees have been subjected to. It is those abuses that this august House wishes to bring into focus, a legal framework, regulation and also, like we did say earlier, in line with devolution, so that resources going to the ground can supplement some of the pressures that have been put on those who donate.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support the amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. First and foremost, I support this Motion. Whether we like it or not, harambee has become a phenomenon that is accepted as a way of culture or a way of life in Kenya on literally every front. As the Mover of the Motion intends, we need to streamline this important industry because it is a multi-billion shilling industry that needs to have some form and order. I do believe, in addition to setting up criteria for projects that qualify for harambee contributions, we must stipulate the objects of fundraising. Fundraising must be an act of philanthropy by people who are well endowed and who wish to voluntarily support general causes that improve the well being of society. Harambee can be a matter of CSR by top corporates in this country; be it Safaricom and other huge profit making organizations that might entrust themselves in giving back to society. But harambee must never be about politics.

For a very long time, the political class has been synonymous with harambees and the politicians in totality are taken to be private avenues for development. I can tell you, including yourself and Members of this Senate on a daily basis, even those who are looking at their Short Message Services (SMS) now, it is likely that somebody is asking for a contribution towards fees for their child, a medical bill, et cetera. As we streamline this industry, we must create interest in people to generate funds that can support some of the development work around education and the social well being without necessarily placing the absolute burden on the political class in its entirety. I think it has prejudiced our political environment for a very long time. Many times we have got less than the leaders that we deserve as a society and a country. People must be told that harambee is not just about a politician.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I remember a situation where there was an order in some public housing for people to vacate. They wanted to rush to court to get interim orders to stop the eviction. They called me as the Senator for the County of Mombasa. This was because of a debt of Kshs20,000. I asked them how many they were in the neighbourhood and if they were working for certain institutions. They said that they were about 500 residents. I asked them to contribute each Kshs400 and whether that would not be cheaper than one politician giving them the entire amount of money. I also thought that this idea would save their essence of survival or existence. So, I requested them to do so. It must be made clear in the minds of Kenyan people that this is not just about the politician because you gave him your vote. It must be a social obligation for all of us to participate effectively in supporting our community.

I have friends who have been in productive employment for a longer period than I have been. I know their net earnings and worth, but if faced by such an issue, they call me and tell me that there is somebody who requires my support. I always ask them why they cannot also support that person because this is about our social obligation in its entirety. As we proceed, we must emancipate the perception of our people that this cannot only be about politicians. If this is about politicians then those who are less endowed in life will not have an opportunity to step in the corridors of the Senate, the National Assembly or any other corridor of power that requires elective political competition.

I have seen ward representatives who hail from certain wards. Their tribulations are known, but the minute they declare that they want to become ward representatives,

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I wish to support the amendment because it is very useful. This is a Motion that will go very far in helping Kenyans live a comfortable life, come up with development and assist, especially the people who are less privileged.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Committee proposed will bring in a diversity of experiences, expertise and knowledge in all fields. The Bill that they will come up with will create ways of regularizing this spirit of harambee, which as has been stated before, has been abused by others. We know that this harambee spirit has helped many people. Earlier on, I heard a Senator saying that some have abused it when a woman is pregnant and maybe they feel that school fees is more urgent. I just wish to differ on that aspect. When it comes to the issue of a woman going to deliver, many things do happen. There are things which come unpredictably. Someone may lose a job. Parties also do split and emergencies happen. You could think that you are going to have a safe delivery, but you are told that now you have to go through surgery and more expensive things, like caesarian. It is good when you are assisted. We do it every day and people should take it seriously. In fact, if someone approached me and told me that she is pregnant, about to

You have to address me as Mr. Speaker.

I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, Sir for referring to you as a temporary Speaker. I looked behind and saw Mr. Speaker leave.

We need to restructure the harambee system in this country. Harambee is a Kenyan phenomenon and a lot of people have had the alternative to go through schools and universities because the harambee system gave us the opportunity. Harambees should equate the fact that there are good signs in it because we are people of endless generosity.

As Kenyan people, we must stand for one another. The more classical individualist societies characterized by the western society could not have survived the terrain that the Kenyan people; a majority of whom are the Kenyan poor, were living in and meeting challenges of their lives. We must also acknowledge that politicians do not have endless resources. We can do all those good things, but be unable to do all the good things. So, as much as our intentions are good and our objectives clear, we may not do everything all the time. In situations where politicians want to support a certain cause, their objectives must be noble and philanthropic. This should not be about politics and manipulation of public opinion.

I urge this Senate to support this Motion because it will streamline this industry. It will set clear guidelines and standards and criterion that will determine how Kenyans can raise the billions that we raise through harambees through constructive development projects. This will end the realm of corruption that we see in this sector often perpetuated by corrupt individuals or organizations at grassroots level that hardly have the capacity or the intention to account for the massive public funds that are raised regularly.

I beg to support the Motion. I am sorry I thought you were a temporary Chair, but more often than not, you sit with us.

Bw. Spika wa Muda, nashukuru kwa kunipa nafasi hii ili nichangie Hoja hii. Hoja hii ina uzito mwingi. Katika mchango wangu nitachukua msimamo wa Sen. G.G. Kariuki kuwa Hoja hii ifanyiwe mabadiliko ili ikubaliane na mahitaji ya Wakenya.

Ningependa kusema mambo matatu juu ya Hoja hii. Jambo la kwanza ni kuwa mwito wa harambee ni mzuri sana katika nchi hii. Wanasiasa wengi hujihusisha na harambee katika maeneo yao kwa sababu wanataka kuwasaidia watu wao. Orodha yangu inaonyesha kutakuwa na harambee nyingi mwishoni wa wiki hii. Si lazima mimi nihudhurie harambee hizo zote. Viongozi waliochaguliwa katika Kaunti zao, si lazima wahudhurie harambee hizo zote kwa sababu wana mambo mengi wanayowafanyiwa watu wao. Kwa hivyo, harambee hutegemea mahitaji ya watu. Hakuna mwanasiasa ambaye hulazimishwa kuhudhuria na kuchanga katika harambee yoyote. Najua wanasiasa ambao hawajawahi kuchanga hela hata moja katika sehemu zao za uwakilishi lakini huchaguliwa wakati wa uchaguzi mkuu.

Marehemu mhe. Martin Shikuku alikuwa mchungaji wa watu. Yeye hakuwahi kuchanga pesa katika harambee yoyote katika sehemu yake ya uwakilishi Bungeni. Tunapozungumza mambo ya harambee tunafaa kuelewa kwamba harambee huchukua mielekeo mitatu. Hii ndio sababu ninakubaliana na msimamo wa Sen. G.G. Kariuki kuhusu Hoja hii. Hakuna maana ya kumsaidia mtu halafu kumvua nguo baadaye kwa kutangaza shida zake na vile anavyoishi.

Nimesimama hapa leo si kwa sababu nimechangia harambee nyingi lakini nilichaguliwa kwa njia halali. Hata hivyo, kuna watoto ambao nimewasomesha kuanzia kidato cha kwanza hadi chuo kikuu. Watoto hawa hawakusomeshwa na Sen. Muthama ili wampigie kura. Hapana. Mimi nimesaidia taifa hili kwa sababu ninataka kuona watu wetu wamepata maarifa na ujuzi wa kuweza kukuza taifa hili. Tukifanya hivyo, watoto hawa watakapokuwa watu wazima hawatajihushisha na ukora na mambo mabaya kwa sababu watakuwa na ujuzi na maarifa ya kufanya kazi kihalali.

Tunajua kuwa walimu wengi wa shule za msingi hapa nchini hawawezi kuwaelimisha watoto wao hadi vyuo vikuu. Hii ni kwa sababu pesa wanazopata hazitoshi. Leo wako barabarani wakidai nyongeza za mishahara yao. Ni huzuni kuwa wengi wao hawawezi kusomesha watoto wao kuanzia darasa la kwanza hadi chuo kikuu ingawa anafanya kazi. Zaidi ya asilimia 90 ya Wakenya ni watu wanaoishi katika hali ya umasikini. Huu ni umaskini ule wa chini kabisa. Kwa hivyo, tunapochanga pesa, huwa hatuchangi bure. Mimi sichangishi pesa ili watu wanipigie kura. Ningependa kupigiwa kura na watu ambao sijawasaidia ili mbele ya Mwenyezi Mungu, nisiwe nimebadilisha kazi ambayo ninafaa kuwa nikifanya ya kuwatumikia watu. Sitaki kuonekana kama ninatumia hongo.

Sen. G.G.Kariuki alisema mambo haya yameleta ufisadi katika nchi. Pesa za harambee husaidia kulipa gharama ya matibabu katika hospitali. Tunaposema tuwe na kamati ya kuchunguza ni nani anayefaa kuchangiwa pesa, kweli tutapata jibu? Magonjwa mengi huwakumba watu. Unaweza kupata kuna mtu ambaye anafaa kupelekwa nchi ya India kwa matibabu. Hapo ndipo tunafanya harambee ya dharura ili tumsaidie mtu huyo kulingana na desturi za Kiafrika. Si kawaida ya sisi kutosaidia mgonjwa. Tusijifanye kwamba sisi ni wazungu. Ukienda kwa mzungu bila kumweleza kwamba utaenda kwake, hautapata chakula. Lakini unapoenda kwa Mwafrika, jambo la kwanza analofanya ni kukupikia chakula, chai au uji. Ukikataa kula, anahisi vibaya sana. Kwa hivyo, tunawachangia wagonjwa ambao hawajiwezi.

Ni vigumu kupata Sen. G.G. Kariuki anaomba kuwa na harambee ili apate pesa za kwenda hospitali ya M.P Shah kwa siku mbili. Najua hawezi kufanya hivyo. Lakini kuna mtu ambaye amevunjika mguu ambaye anahitaji matibabu katika hospitali hiyo lakini hana pesa.

Sisi huchangia pia matanga mtu anapokufa. Kuna msemo wa Kiafrika unaosema kuwa mtu hujizika akiwa hai. Kujizika ni kuungana na wenzako katika kijiji, kukusanya mapato na kusaidia katika kuwazika walioaga dunia.

Harambee ya tatu ni ya elimu. Harambee hii hufanyika kuwasaidia watoto masikini. Wakati mwingi sisi huchangia shule ili wapate vifaa muhimu za masomo. Tunahitaji kuchanga pesa ili watoto hawa wasome na kuja hapa baadaye kama Sen. (Dr.) Zani. Ikiwa tutaondoa harambee hii na kusema inafaa kuchunguzwa, basi watoto wengi hawatasoma.

Kuna pia harambee za makanisa. Kanisa ni msingi ambao tunajenga roho zetu na maisha yetu ya baadaye. Ingawa Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o ameleta Hoja nzuri ambayo itarekebisha mambo ya hongo na ufisadi, ninahimiza mabadiliko yafanyiwe Hoja hii ili tuwe na nafasi ya kujua ni akina nani wana haja zaidi ya kusaidiwa. Jambo hili halifai kufanywa kwa ujumla na kusema watu wachunguzwe. Umasikini wa mtu ni kipawa kutoka kwa Mungu na hata utajiri ni kipawa kutoka kwa Mungu. Uongozi ni kipawa kutoka kwa Mungu. Hata Bibilia inasema, waliopewa nyingi ni lazima watoe kwa wingi.

Asante, Bw. Spika wa Muda.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to propose an amendment to this Motion under Standing Order No.52. The amendment reads as follows.

That this Motion be amended as follows:

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I want to request Sen. Joy Gwendo to second the amendment to this Motion.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to second the amendment that Sen. Ong’era has moved. This is because in this House most of the Senators have had the experience of harambees in their areas. So, if we bring Senators from diverse origins, we will have the expertise and experience put together, to bring a Bill that will move this Senate to where we want it to go and help Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to second. (Question of the amendment proposed) The Senate Minority Leader (

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to support the amendment. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, given the earlier sentiments expressed by the distinguished Senator for Laikipia, it is only fair that we exclude him from the Committee, although the reasons that he gave for not wanting to serve were far from convincing. But we must respect his views, so that we can move forward. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the additional names are also born out of consultations, to see that we have a balance from both sides of the House, which I think we do achieve by the inclusion of the new names. I have no doubt that the gender parity is also equally achieved and that the additional Members to the Committee will add value in helping to generate and engineer a new law that can help regulate harambees. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it must be made very clear, once again, that Prof. Anyang’-Nyong’o’s Motion does not in any way intend to abolish harambees. Everybody who has spoken here, has talked about the many good things that harambee has contributed in the development of our country. Equally, Members have spoken about the abuses that harambees have been subjected to. It is those abuses that this august House wishes to bring into focus, a legal framework, regulation and also, like we did say earlier, in line with devolution, so that resources going to the ground can supplement some of the pressures that have been put on those who donate. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support the amendment.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this amendment. But I would like to just pass a word of advice to the Committee that will be formed. They need to conduct civic education amongst the people that they will be visiting, so that they do not end up creating a centre to source for bribes. Through setting up committees, we may end up handing powers to the chiefs, assistant chiefs and other unscrupulous persons, who will pretend to be screening the projects, yet they will be asking for money. Therefore, civic education needs to be conducted out there, so that people can understand the concept and do not feel like we want to stop their ways of raising money through harambees. They should not also feel like they are being disadvantaged by those who are supposed to protect them.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to support.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I also stand to support the amendment. In Kenya, many people have also had a negative view of harambees because of lack of accountability. There are many people who would like to contribute, considering the usefulness of the contributions, especially in harambees. If they knew that systems of accountability would be put in place, I am sure that they would contribute even more than what they are contributing currently.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I think that the levels of apathy amongst various contributors has come because there is no sense of having any sort of control once the money has been given. Therefore, if we put in place mechanisms to ensure that such accountability exists, a large sector of Kenyan groups will feel that now they can contribute. Because of the abuses that harambees have been subjected to, many people who would otherwise contribute are not contributing.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I think that the Select Committee that has been proposed is more representative. It brings into the field also varied experiences. Such structures and the Bill that will be prepared as a result of this Motion, will really begin to put us on a map, where we do not lose a resource that is very critical in this country.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, by nature, in terms of our background and communal approach to things, Kenyans tend to be givers. Sometimes I get worried when this spirit of giving is interfered with because of the suspicion about what the money will be used for and the abuses. So, if we can bring a Bill that will begin to restore the confidence for such contributions, it will take us to greater heights. It will take us back to the 1960s in terms of the willingness in contribution and benefits of those contributions, especially at the county level, people might be missing out in terms of money and projects; be they educational-based or health projects. At the county level, it will enable people to bring back the value of harambees. We will be moving in the right direction if we will bring that Bill and ensure that accountability within harambees is taken into consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I wish to support the amendment because it is very useful. This is a Motion that will go very far in helping Kenyans live a comfortable life, come up with development and assist, especially the people who are less privileged.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Committee proposed will bring in a diversity of experiences, expertise and knowledge in all fields. The Bill that they will come up with will create ways of regularizing this spirit of harambee, which as has been stated before, has been abused by others. We know that this harambee spirit has helped many people. Earlier on, I heard a Senator saying that some have abused it when a woman is pregnant and maybe they feel that school fees is more urgent. I just wish to differ on that aspect. When it comes to the issue of a woman going to deliver, many things do happen. There are things which come unpredictably. Someone may lose a job. Parties also do split and emergencies happen. You could think that you are going to have a safe delivery, but you are told that now you have to go through surgery and more expensive things, like caesarian. It is good when you are assisted. We do it every day and people should take it seriously. In fact, if someone approached me and told me that she is pregnant, about to

deliver and does not have money, I will take priority and help such a woman, because that is an emergency. You cannot say: - “Baby wait in the stomach; I will give birth to you next year.” You cannot compare this to a person who is going to study or do exams. He or she can defer and do the exams the next time they will be offered.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, even when it comes to people who are bereaved, many a times, the harambee spirit has helped families move on. If it is controlled, it will protect the families of the bereaved from relatives who become committee chairs or officials. After the money has been raised, they disappear with it and the family is left in more poverty. You will find that where it has been taken care of well, school fees is paid directly for the children who are left behind. The widows are also assisted. In fact, if it is well organized, they can even be assisted in ways of investing the little money that has been raised after a beloved one, who was, probably, the sole breadwinner, has departed.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I said, many schools have been built due to this harambee or voluntary contributions. It is a culture which is well known within our societies. We have built schools and churches generally irrespective of our religions or denominations. We know that we must help the less privileged with whatever we have. Even what is called merry-go-rounds which was very popular amongst the female members of the society, have also been taken up by the men. They have done wonders and improved the lives of the citizens within the country.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I really support this Motion and urge that the Committee comes up with the Bill and proper laws to regularize and ensure that harambees are not abused as has been done before.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to support.

I realized that Sen. Sijeny was contributing to the Motion itself, but I allowed her because I think that we are still within the 100 days of the Senate and are all learning. But we are actually discussing the amendment.

I realize also that all of you have contributed to this Motion. So, I now call upon the Mover to reply.

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Let me, first of all, thank all Senators who have contributed to this Motion. I would just like to make one point very clear; this Motion, in no way, intends to abolish harambees. No! If anything, its intention is to encourage harambees to be done in such a way that it eliminates the vices that have emerged in the past associated with harambees. It wants to humanize harambee and put it in such a way that it meets its original intended objective; a truly voluntary fund without any form of coercion; a truly voluntary contribution which encourages philanthropy but, at the same time, does not subject those who contribute to unnecessary burden or taxation.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in the western world, rich people are encouraged to contribute to philanthropy. In actual fact, there are research institutions devoted to studying philanthropy. I remember not too long ago, there was a group of people in Kenya touring East Africa, studying philanthropy in East Africa. I was interviewed by this group. They were wondering why we do not encourage people to contribute philanthropically by making sure that when they make contributions, that is deducted

from their tax. Because in the west, those people have established foundations where they put part of the profits they make so that those foundations can do philanthropic work. They could as well have waited for the Government to tax their profits so that all the money goes to the Government. This is because they also realized that the Government cannot do everything. So, rather than wait for the Governments to create foundations, individuals create foundations and put money there. Now, our form of foundation here is really harambee. So, when people contribute, we should also be fair enough to make sure that they do not pay taxes twice. We should make sure that the money that they pay for philanthropy is taken away from their income and then their income is taxed fairly. This is the aim of part “b,” which says:-

“Establish procedures for ensuring that harambee contributions are tax deductable;” That is exactly what it means. I think some people may have misunderstood it and either thought that there would be a tax for harambees; no, that is not the case. There would be philanthropy. Harambee is one of them. When you do contribute to it, the public or Government also appreciates and do not visit you with another heavy taxation.

Secondly, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Sen. G.G. Kariuki thought that by passing this law, we were going to interfere with personal and individual decisions. I do not think the law will tell you which harambee to go to and which one not to. No, the law is just going to say “Please, we encourage harambees to go ahead and be a form of philanthropy in our nation, but we do not want it to be abused.” Although the Public Officer Ethics Act is now very strictly applied, but we do not want somebody to say, “I am going to be married and I am going to have a pre-wedding harambee.” The contribution then goes on for six months and the wedding is never held. These are some of the individual geniuses who have misused harambees, and which this law is trying to eliminate and protect the public from their vices. So, to the contrary, because the rich used the money, as Sen. G.G. Kariuki explained very well here, in harambees to intimidate others, especially politically; now we do not want them to intimidate others. We want everybody to contribute, but contribute in such a way that, like Sen. Wetangula was saying, it is not done in an obscene manner that intimidates, and that is actually what encourages corruption. Again, if you look at the Public Officers Ethics Act, that is really illegal. So, the voluntary nature of harambee is still preserved.

Secondly, harambee is not eliminating other personal contributions, like Sen. Joyce Sijeny was saying. If, indeed, you see a lady who is expecting and she comes to you as an individual and appeals to you, that is still regarded as philanthropy. It is not harambee because that is a personal appeal. There is no way by which this law will outlaw such kinds of contributions. This law is mainly concerned with large contributions where the public is involved; where public interest should be preserved and where there should be accountability when public money is given. This proposed law is to ensure that when money is given, it does not fall to misuse. I have seen occasions where we have collected money for funeral expenses and then there are things called committees. When you go home to the rural areas, the committee gives the report and you can see that it is not telling the truth, but you have no way of saying “point of order” at a funeral. We can make those committees more accountable. Yet the widow is bereaved, she cannot speak.

It is only later when you come back to visit your relatives that the widow comes and says “Oh, you know my son, I have not seen any single cent of that money that was collected.” It is so sad. So, rather than pretend that these things are voluntary, they should not be interfered with and so on, let us protect individual members of society from vices and make sure that when these things happen, there is a record that is known publicly. We are not saying that the Government is going to come and interfere with public collections, but at least, when you do it, you should fill a form which is available for inspection and which will protect people like widows and so on. This is a vice that the spirit of the Motion or the Bill that we intend to write is trying to cure.

Further, when the Bill is ready because I think it is the most important thing, it will come to the Senate. The Senate will then examine it to find out whether the things we are saying here are enshrined in the Bill. I just want to remind the Senate that in the Public Officer Ethics Act of 2003, Section 13(1) reads:-

“(a) A public officer shall not use his office or place of work as a venue for soliciting or collecting harambees; or,

send his children to school. Now, the ten acres is not being used, they are not being productive because they are not investing in the land. There is a certain pride that we have in having ten acres of land. If those ten acres were sold to somebody who can put it to productive use and then that money is used to educate a son or a daughter, it would be much, much better.

So, again, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, these are the kinds of excesses that this law is trying to cure so that our assets are put to productive use, rather than being protected unproductively, then we raid other people’s incomes, which can be their savings, to do what is our responsibilities as citizens of the nation.

So, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

Hon. Senators, it is now time to adjourn the Senate. The Senate stands adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, 11th July, 2013, at 2.30 p.m.

The Senate rose at 5.05 p.m.