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{
    "id": 1067074,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1067074/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 68,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mwingi West, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Charles Nguna",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13445,
        "legal_name": "Charles Ngusya Nguna",
        "slug": "charles-ngusya-nguna"
    },
    "content": "We always say that we have a right to do this and that, but do you have a responsibility as a citizen to guard what is already on the table? This Bill has clearly listed all the responsibilities that a citizen of this country will be executing. That is why I laud the BBI. On the issue of natural disasters and manmade disasters, the BBI has proposed several measures to ensure safety and security for Kenyans. There is also the issue of devolution, which is the biggest gainer if properly implemented. We have seen the way devolution can work wonders if we elect the right governors and the right members of county assemblies (MCAs). Allocating 35 per cent of the sharable national revenue, down from 30 per cent, to the counties will ensure that even the smallest villages in this country will benefit from those resources. Creation of the Ward Development Fund will ensure that there is equitable distribution of revenue. Developing the counties will ease congestion in major cities and people will start migrating back to their respective counties to work in there. We have talked of lack of national ethos. When will Kenyans think like Kenyans instead of thinking like, for instance, a Kamba, Luo, Luhya and Borana, to mention just a few of the 42 ethnic groups in Kenya? We need to emphasise the importance of developing national ethos to make sure that we nature our families and small children to think as Kenyans and not as Kalenjin, Kamba, Luhya or any other ethnic community so that once they take responsibility as responsible citizens, we can have a very prosperous country. Another win for the BBI Bill is the creation of the Youth Commission. We have been told that the youth are future leaders. So, the time to empower the youths is now and not tomorrow. It is today. We have seen that most of the time, the majority of our university students always complete their studies and start struggling to get employed. We also force them to pay the loans they borrowed from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). The proposed holiday of four years is a plus for the BBI. I will be the first one to mobilise the youths in my constituency to vote for it overwhelmingly. There is also the issue of tax holiday for our young people in businesses. They strain very much. The Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) does not serve the intended parties. Giving the youths the funds and exempting them from paying tax in what we call “|tax holiday” is crucial. We are going to witness employment and a lot of measures to curb unemployment. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I can see the red light is almost going on. On the issue of delimitation of constituencies, I cannot imagine that Kitui County, which is one of the biggest counties, is not going to get a constituency. So, I besiege the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission to consider the issue of “population per square kilometre” and the issue of one man one vote one shilling. If we combine the two methods, we are going to have a better Parliament composed of the best number of Members of Parliament and also have equitable distribution of the National Government Constituency Development Fund. With those few remarks, Mwingi West and I support the BBI."
}