I Don't Bank Some of My Money Due to Strict Regulations, MP Rigathi Gachagua Admits

Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua has admitted he does not bank some of his money due to strict anti-money laundering laws.

Gachagua noted that many Kenyans, including himself, have avoided banking owing to regulations that require individuals to account for all cash transactions exceeding Sh1 million.

“What has happened is that many people have stopped banking. I myself don’t bank some of the money that I make from my farm. Why? Because I have to explain how and where I got the money. When I was planting nobody asked me questions but when I want to deposit the money I have made after a harvest I have to do so,” the MP said on Thursday.

“The government is supposed to offer services but they brought too much governance into people’s lives. For you to deposit a million shillings in a financial institution, you have to answer too many questions. We Africans are not even comfortable discussing the number of cows or sheep we have. It is against our tradition and so is money.”

The first-time MP indicated that some businesses prefer cash transactions and anything else is unacceptable.

“I have construction works and whenever I go to buy sand from a supplier, they expect me to pay for the product in cash. The same applies when paying construction workers. When I pay them for a job all they want is cash since a lot of them don’t even have bank accounts,” he remarked.

Gachagua was reacting to President Kenyatta’s Mashujaa Day decree to raise the threshold of cash transactions.

Gachagua suggested that the cash threshold be raised by Sh4 million to Sh5 million, saying this will bring more money into circulation.

“In my own proposal the threshold should be around 5 million shillings. That should be the largest amount you can withdraw or deposit in cash.  That will bring money into circulation. People are private in nature and it is not because they are crooks or anything like that,” he noted.