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{
    "id": 1156171,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1156171/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 78,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orengo",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 129,
        "legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
        "slug": "james-orengo"
    },
    "content": "these countries, there is some kind of lethargy not to deal with it directly and more aggressively. If that is done, the people in the region can pride themselves not only as an area or region full of minerals and natural wealth, but also looking to the future with the centre stage of progress and democracy in Africa. My hope is that under this framework of Forum of Parliamentarians of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, we can have a strong political union and economic bloc based on human rights and respect for the rule of law. We should also commit our countries together in pursuit of prosperity and that, eventually, we should have one currency and no borders. We should be able to travel from Mombasa to Matadi or Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Senator for Nairobi likes playing music. He should be able to take a flight to Kinshasa, play music in Kinshasa for two days, come back and probably go and have coffee in Angola. These things can happen. Madam Temporary Speaker, I congratulate Members of Parliament who are active members of this forum and their participation in this forum. I also hope that there will be Members of Parliament after this Parliament serves its full tenure, who will take over from Sen. Madzayo and others in propelling the activities of this forum in years and days to come. While on this, I associate with Sen. Wambua when he was talking about the coming elections. I am just hoping that on these elections, even in the remaining months, we can talk about issues that bedevil our country. It is good that we have an issue-based election campaign. Look at what has just happened to the East Africa Community. Who mentions it as a reference point in the current campaigns? Who mentions the questions of the rising cost of fuel not to win political points, but address them in an issue-based manner? How do you deal with problems of poverty? Sen. Shiyonga had a Statement about the rising cost of foodstuffs; milk and the likes. How many times do we make our election campaigns based on things that affect the life of the ordinary Kenyans? I am really a part of that problem because I think I have been consumed in the elections of negative rhetoric and learning how to call people names. The Kenyan elections are so full of theatre. I mean, even in Hollywood, when they make a picture of how elections campaigns are conducted, you know they will pick movies about how elections are won and lost, and that is just theatre. The Kenyan elections are so full of theatre. I think there is a level of skepticism and cynicism in our politics. The Kenyan public prefers politicians who entertain and sing in a rally and not the one who can address the issues of the day, such as the concerns of this forum, in addressing the matters of the region, specifically, the Great Lakes Region. We have a problem in Sudan. It is a friendly nation and yet, the region talks very little about it. Even the EU talks very little about the death of democracy in the Republic of Sudan. I hope that in the future, through a forum like this, we will be able to confront nations within the region, so that they live by the Constitutions that they have promulgated. They should live by the principles and the rule of law that they have told their citizens that they are going to follow and respect human rights and other international instruments that affect the lives of our people."
}