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{
    "id": 1117586,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1117586/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 434,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We should encourage our Maasai sons that they can go to Oxford and Harvard and come back to become dairy farmers. Not by roaming around the plains of Kisaju, but by going into high value and hybrid production of milk and beef. Whenever you go to the United States of America (USA) or the United Kingdom (UK) and come back to Kenya, you feel relieved that you are back at home. Why can we not ensure we go beyond the tourism of harassing tourists to buy bungles and shukas on our beaches? Export led manufacturing is what we must focus on. We must avoid the mistake of import substitution and closing borders to products so that they can produce internally like Nigeria our brothers are doing. There must be a careful balance between protecting local industries and ensuring we have a liberal market that can see to it that our goods are competitive in the local and international market. I am glad that as a Member of a political party, I have a leader who is running for presidency in 2022 who is passionate and knowledgeable. He has told us time and again that his focus will be to unlock the productivity of the economy. This is so that we can bridge budget deficits and have money to pay our debts so that we do not subject future generations to misery and bankruptcy as Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki had said. We can bequeath a country that is rich to successive generations. Finally, in this report, the Auditor-General must be allowed to audit Kenya‟s debt situation. The Executive blocked the Auditor-General from doing so in the Eurobond matter, which was completely out of order. I hope the Auditor-General will be given the independence and strength, power and teeth to ensure they give Parliament a report in a timely manner on the sustainability and transparency of the debt that we have. The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) wherever they are a constitutional body. If they have a problem of funding they should come to Parliament and tell us. This is supposed to be the think tank. The current Government got rid of the National Economic and Social Council and killed KIPPRA. Who is there to advice the Government? It is unfortunate that sometimes the Government is taking instructions and advice from bloggers and online contributors. We need to bring back these bodies, strengthen KIPPRA and the National Economic and Social Council. We need to bring technocrats into thinking. We do not just want Machiavelli running Government. As it is now our cabinet secretaries have become Machiavelli just looking for the best way of outwitting those people they do not like. Their focus should not be on competitive politics, but unlocking productivity. That is the ultimate solution to the debt problem we have in this country Even though I said the recommendations are lazy, this is a good starting point for a conversation in the Senate. I hope within the six months that the Committee has recommended we are going to get a report back to the House. I support."
}