Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1095550,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1095550/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 62,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nambale, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Sakwa Bunyasi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2511,
        "legal_name": "John Sakwa Bunyasi",
        "slug": "john-sakwa-bunyasi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to make very brief comments on these three Petitions. Let me start with the issue of the NYS. It is a very good example of how financial governance really went wrong and it is continuing to go wrong. Even though bills are verified, it puts power in the hands of the managers on who to give and who not to, to pay off pending bills. When you aggregate this for the whole economy, you end up having a lot of money stuck there. If released, it will be a major stimulus package for this economy. The type we are talking about is on budgeting new monies and yet monies are being held, which if released into the economy would make a huge difference. The Petition is sound. I hope as a result of it we will revisit these issues that are being ignored across the economy in respect of payment of pending bills. On irrigation, we should take food security seriously. Food is not just needed when people are starving. Food is needed to lower costs. If we lower costs, we shall effectively increase the income of workers, particularly urban workers. When they measure inflation with food costs which is in the basket, it may be about 40 per cent or 50 per cent. In fact, more than 50 per cent are reduced. We will have effectively given an increase to that household. With availability of moisture and rain, we will help increase productivity and lower average cost. That is something that must be taken extremely seriously. We have abandoned schemes in areas like Busia and nobody cares about them. We have not even succeeded to get the Question in Parliament answered, after two years of both Mheshimiwa Oundo and myself raising it. We are taking issues around food security as seriously as we should. Lastly is the issue of historical rights. I think we should begin to confront problems as they are. I think we know that. The elite that we have is not different from the colonial elite that we had in terms of hanging on to assets and not caring about the poor. I really think that this Petition by Hon. Sara Korere is extremely good. It should raise all the difficult issues that we would like to avoid in relation to issues of historical injustices. It is extremely important that we put our minds to it when it comes before us. We should enrich it enough to enable Government to feel that, indeed, there is a real problem there."
}