Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1062960,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1062960/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 610,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Emurua Dikirr, KANU",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Johana Ng’eno",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1453,
        "legal_name": "Johana Ngeno Kipyegon",
        "slug": "johana-ngeno-kipyegon"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to air my views on this particular issue, which is threatening the lives and opportunities in our country. Today, we have agreed that we will recess for one month and come back. I am not against the idea given that we also need to look at the arrangement that the country has placed before us. We also need to agree that of importance in all this is the rearrangement of our sittings. This House, as you have ruled, is in the same position as the other two arms of the Government; namely, the Executive and the Judiciary. The three arms govern this country and none of them can run this country without the other. The Executive cannot run the country without Parliament. Parliament cannot run the country without the Judiciary. The Judiciary cannot run the country alone, just like the other two arms cannot. So, we have to formulate a way that will allow this House to be sitting so that we can oversee matters that are happening in this country. As we go on recess for 30 days, we need to ask ourselves several questions. How have we handled the pandemic as a House? We need to have learnt lessons from previous months since we had this pandemic with us. How, as a House, have we handled the pandemic? Have we left it just for the Executive and the Ministry of Health? We also need to ask ourselves how we have committed funds towards fighting the pandemic. The question of committing funds is not only left to this House. We also have the responsibility of overseeing the use of those funds. We have had so many scandals in this country since the pandemic came. How, as a House, have we handled those scandals? We also need to ask how we have overseen the funds that have been allocated. Have we become a party to the scandals that we have had? We heard about the COVID-19 millionaires. How have the Members of the Departmental Committee on Health handled that matter or have they become part and parcel of the scandal? How have we assisted the citizens of this country who have been affected by COVID-19? Those people who have lost their jobs, how has the House sat and looked at that issue? How has the House sat and looked at the people who have lost their businesses? These are the questions that we must ask ourselves as Members of Parliament even as we go on recess. We must also ask ourselves what measures we have put in place to protect our citizens from harassment by the police. Police officers have taken advantage of the situation. Every hour even before 8.00 p.m., they roam everywhere in the country arresting young people and businesspeople who are rushing to their homes. There are so many security officers who are taking advantage of this pandemic to harass citizens. It is our responsibility as Members of this House to ensure that our citizens are protected. We need to ask what measures we have put in place to ensure that there is order, especially as regards vaccination. We are only talking about the vaccines. It is like only members of a certain class are being vaccinated. We are not seeing vaccination taking place in the villages. There is no sensitisation on vaccination in the villages. Like somebody has said, we need to have priorities. We do not need big roads. We do not need big projects right now. We need to divert all those monies to purchase vaccines so that our people can be protected. That way, when we come back, we will be assured that almost three-quarters of the Kenyan population has been vaccinated. Thank you. 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."
}