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{
    "id": 102819,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/102819/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 216,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "It will only make sense if our budgetary allocations make public health services available to as many Kenyans as possible, so that quality healthcare does not become a preserve of the rich. We know for sure that whether one is rich or poor, we only need quality healthcare at one point in our lives. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Parliament must now re-look at the way it scrutinises the Budget. Time has come when we should actually start denying non- performing Ministries their budgetary allocations. Budgetary allocations will only make sense when they translate into a better life for Kenyans. Recently, I attended a conference outside the country, and some of the statements that came out were very depressing. One of the participants, who comes from East Africa, described the inequality in Kenya in very figurative terms and boldly said that, in their view, they thought the richest person in East Africa lived in Kenya as much as the poorest person in East in Africa also lived in Kenya. These are statements that cannot be taken lightly, because when we have such huge gaps, we have very elongated income disparities, and the effects are there for all of us to see. What has happened is that the stone walls around our homes have grown taller. More electric fencing has appeared around our homes, but none of us feels secure. For most of us here, the most terrifying moments are the few seconds you spend outside the gate of your house as you wait for the askari to open it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, is this really the kind of society that we want? I do not think so. I think we want a society where every Kenyan, rich or poor, can feel secure. The only way that can happen is by trying to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. It is known all over the world that no matter what you do, even if those of us who can afford decide to surround ourselves with stone walls and electric fences, and hire for ourselves private armed bodyguards, you cannot eliminate insecurity. The only way you can provide lasting solutions to the security of the well-to-do in society is to make sure that the weak, the poor and all the vulnerable groups are adequately provided for. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, our Budget will have failed if it does not provide for bridging the gap between the rich and the poor in this country, since at the end of the day, all of us must call this place home. All of us must feel secure. We are discussing a Budget that is approaching Kshs1 trillion. There has to be evidence that the Ministries that are going to receive these allocations are performing to better the lives of all Kenyans. With those remarks, I do not support."
}