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"speaker_name": "Mr. K. Kilonzo",
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"legal_name": "Julius Kiema Kilonzo",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to comment on the Presidential Address. From the outset, I want to thank the President for the visionary statement he gave and, particularly the caution he gave to politicians when he said that our utterances as politicians, and as hon. Members, must be weighed so that they do not affect the economy of this country. Many a times we, politicians and leaders, do make statements which scare away investors and people who want to come and do business in this country. That was very wise counsel from a Statesman, from a President who has been an hon. Member of Parliament for close to 47 years. However, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I continued listening to the Presidentâs Address very keenly, I was a bit perturbed by the resolve of the President and the Government to fight corruption. Why am I saying this? It is because the President did very well say that we should not politicize and personalize the fight against corruption. But many of the Government officials have been implicated in cases which involve corruption. What baffles Kenyans and the international community is that investigations are done when those same Government officers are sitting in offices. You would agree with me that it is, indeed, very difficult--- It is a daunting task for any person who has been involved in corruption to allow himself to be investigated when he is still in office. We are human beings and people are bound to start covering their mistakes. So, I want to urge the President and the other principal that any time officers in Government are implicated in corruption, it is good manners, it is good practice and it is democratic to step aside to allow the due process to take place and to let investigations to be done. If people are clean, they can go back to their offices. But the idea that you have to step aside when you are found guilty is going to negate that very essence of the Governmentâs resolve to fight corruption. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to turn to the issue of the Constitution. I want to enjoin myself to the contributions of all hon. Members who have spoken before me. All of them have stressed the importance of this country to have a new constitution. But listening today to the Government side when they were even showing their resolve and commitment on how they want to push for this Constitution, clearly it came out that we had a divided Government, which is talking about pushing this document. We heard no other than my friend, the Vice-President himself saying that, surely, whatever this Parliament, or the Parliamentary Select Committee, passed should not have been watered down, or in any way been interfered with by the Committee of Experts (CoE). Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, yes, we are representatives of the people, but we also have other Kenyans who have equal interest to see that this country gets a new constitution which is for all of us and not for hon. Members. So, I just want to urge my colleagues, and more so, the Government side that they should be reading from the same script. Clearly, when part of the Government urges Kenyans and other colleagues to pass the document without even changing a coma, and other senior Government officials say that--- We have even heard the faiths saying that we need to open up this document; the Government itself is going to make the process of finalizing the constitution-making a problem. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to accept that making a constitution is about locking in interests. Various parties and groups would want to know that their interests have been captured in the constitution. But I also want my colleagues and Kenyans to appreciate that everything cannot be put in the constitution. This document can pass the way it is; it can be amended later. Where issues which are of national importance have been brought to the fore, then we, as hon. Members, any time we are deliberating on amendments that have been brought to the Floor of the House, the interests of the nation must take precedence as opposed to sectarian or political interests. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I echo the words of the President in his Address when he said that we have a unique opportunity, as Parliamentarians, of going to the annals of history as the Parliament which was able to deliver a new constitution. This, indeed, is a unique chance; it does not come every other time. Therefore, I want to ask my colleagues that we rise to the occasion. This Tenth Parliament should be the Parliament which is able to deliver a new constitution to the country. Let us see what brings us together and avoid very much what divides us. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as the President addressed the nation and this House on that 23rd day of February, 2010 I was waiting to hear what tangible measures the Government is going to take, having given farmers incentives to make sure that they are able to capture the gains, or provide markets for the produce which farmers in this country have been able to get because of the good rains. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have seen farmersâ crops go to waste in Mutito Constituency which I represent in the last three days. The rains are here, but the farmers do not have stores to store their produce. I have seen middlemen and middlewomen come and buy the produce at very low prices. This is demoralizing to the farmers. If you tell the farmers that they can get better prices for their produce, they will ask you who will buy it. The Government should establish a kitty which should be used to buy the farmersâ produce. It is just the other day we saw milk being spilt in milk producing areas. Some of us who come from Ukambani where milk is rare to find were very upset. Farmers have done their bit. Kenyans are hardworking people. Can the Government come up with tangible measures to ensure there is economic growth and wealth creation? The Government should ensure that there is value to the farmersâ produce be they dairy farmers, coffee farmers, tea farmers, sugar farmers or the farmers from my area who also grow crops. Let the Government establish a special kitty so that it can create the market for farmersâ produce. It is only after markets are created that farmers will work very hard. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are here as the Tenth Parliament and I think we will rise to the occasion of giving this country a new Constitution."
}