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{
    "id": 1033230,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1033230/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 219,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ugenya, MDG",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2955,
        "legal_name": "David Ouma Ochieng'",
        "slug": "david-ouma-ochieng"
    },
    "content": " Thank you so much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to support the President’s Speech. This Speech was delivered as a duty under the Constitution. As Members of Parliament, we have a duty to support the President of the Republic for the country to succeed. Part of our duty is to ensure that when the President speaks to the Assembly and talks about things that have been done and are required according to the Constitution, we can see tangible, visible and actionable results as per what the Constitution requires. The President talked about what he has done in ensuring that we have the national values and principles of governance effectuated. I do not know whether it is true that eight years down the line, Uhuru’s Government is more inclusive than the Government that was there before he came to office. I cannot say with confidence that he has taken steps to ensure that Article 10 of the Constitution is lived up to. Time and again in this Assembly, we have had to just allow his appointments saying that we should just pass them for him, so that we do not distract him. His appointments to too many positions have been so tribally skewed that they would not pass the test of inclusivity. I have been in this House and I have seen how sometimes Members in Committees are told: “This is for the President. He wants this very badly.” You cannot build a country based on the Constitution if at every corner you get a chance, you abrogate the Constitution. You cannot say today that Kenyans feel they are part of the country or that they feel patriotic, because there are no tangible steps being taken by the Presidency and the Executive to make us feel part of the country. He talked about economic empowerment. I have checked some of the projects he talked about like the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and the expressway. How Kenyan are these projects? Yes, they are being built on Kenyan soil, but can we say that those implementing them are Kenyans? Can we say that the money being used to build them remains here? I have talked about this issue several times. There is no way this country will grow if every chance we get to grow economically, we throw back money to Europe and China. In building the SGR, the smallest things like bolts and nuts were imported. In building the expressway, the things being used are hardly Kenyan. The manpower being used is hardly Kenyan. So, how do you build an economy? How do we ensure that all these projects we are implementing are Kenyan? There is no way you are going to pull the youth out of poverty when every opportunity you get to do big projects you give back to the Chinese and the Europeans and there is no framework to ensure transfer of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}