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{
    "id": 1151686,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1151686/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 178,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kipipiri, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Amos Kimunya",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": "The typical thing that every Kenyan thinks of is that since he or she has left the military, and since it was a security operation, he or she should, therefore, start a security company. By the time they go to even try and market that company, they will realise that it is not as easy as they thought. So, this advice on business opportunities and what to do are some of the things that need to be done. You would imagine that President Uhuru Kenyatta went to a military academy. This is because he has had a lot of attachment to the military during his tenure by getting them to do civil works, to take over the Kenya Meat Commission and making it profitable. There is also Maj.Gen. Badi and the Nairobi Metropolitan Service, and so many other things like construction of hospitals. I am sure most of these things will also benefit the veterans as they will receive some of these services within those establishments. This Bill also recognises that the military officers have dependants who will need assistance of one form or the other. I know of some friends who kept on shuffling and their kids had to be moved. They were serving in Eldoret Barracks with their children attending school there and all of a sudden, after I do not know how many years… Dr. Eseli might help us with that cycle. You find that the person has been transferred to another place and the children too have to move. Before long, there is something else. So, people are disrupted in terms of their lives. They cannot even make permanent friends and all that. When this person retires having gone through all that, the family gets affected. It is important that as we look at the veterans, we also look at their families and what we should do in terms of education placement for those children who find themselves moving around and all of a sudden, the person they depend on cannot rise in ranks beyond a certain point. These are some of the challenges that we need to look at. This Bill partly addresses some of those issues. The Bill also seeks to establish a defence council which, again, will have the administrative powers, including the development of a policy on military veterans. It has considered some proposals by the CS for Defence and the Chief of Defence Forces regarding policies on funding and budgeting in respect of military veterans so that their matters are not just left to some administrative unit within DOD. Now, there will be a form of structure that will address some of these issues including matters policy and not just administration. The Bill proposes that the Council shall be headed by a director of military veterans, who shall oversee all administrative functions. The other highlights of the Bill which I wish to speak to include establishment of a Dependants Education Fund, which shall provide scholarships for the children and members of the Kenya Military Veterans as well as family members of deceased members of the KDF or of military veterans. We should not terminate the education of a dependant just because the member has lost their life in war or has retired earlier for any reason. The Bill also proposes the creation of Defence Forces Retirement Home to provide residential and related services to military veterans when they reach a point where they need to spend their remaining days in such a place. They can do that in the camaraderie of friends with whom they served together. The lives of these people are characterised by some uncertainties such as duty calls and restriction of certain rights and freedoms. They cannot move the way they want. They cannot get into collective bargaining. Much as the Constitution allows people to form trade unions, these people are excluded from doing that. They can only come to this House to negotiate on their behalf by passing this kind of legislation so that they are accorded the necessary social protection when they are in and out of service. It is in that regard that I wish to call upon Members of the House to support the Bill. Yes, we have done very well with the Constitution that protects people’s rights, but it also restricts the rights of certain people. We should use this House to protect 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."
}