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"id": 1172160,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, DP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Gitonga",
"speaker": {
"id": 13491,
"legal_name": "George Gitonga Murugara",
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"content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I also rise to agree with Hon. Ichung’wah, that you actually guide us on the two matters raised, including the constitutionality of the Bill. That is because we are supposed to be dealing with public universities as regards public money. But in a manner that cannot be explained, we are actually diverting public money to private universities at the expense of public universities. It is sad to note that we are not able to charter any more universities now, because a good majority of them are reeling in debt, and they are on the verge of collapse. I have been pursuing the Government for a long time so that my own university – Tharaka University College – can actually be chartered. The response I got is that there is no money to charter that university, because even those that are chartered are in lots of problems. Today, as we sit in this august House, we are passing a law that is going to channel public money to private universities, where it is not going to be accounted for. This flies in the face of Article 10 of our Constitution, that in good governance, public money must be well spent and must be well accounted for. Therefore, as we reject this, it is against my wish that students are being taken to private universities contrary to their wishes. I am aware of this because university students who have passed very well find themselves in third range universities, like the Mount Kenya University, a university that has questionable credentials at all times. They come up with sloppy degrees and they have issues when it comes to employment. I would wish to see Tharaka University chartered and commissioned, so that it is a fully-fledged public university in our constituency and our county. However, if we continue doing this, it will remain a pipe dream. Number two is very important. On 9th May, 2022, a couple of other Members of Parliament and I were invited for harmonisation and winnowing of the proposed amendments. Those Members included Hon. Owen Baya, Hon. Didmus Barasa, Hon. John Kiarie, Hon. David Sankok, Hon. Robert Pukose, Hon. Silvanus Osoro and I. As you have heard, the others like Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah were not invited. Let me speak for myself because I appeared before the Committee and I had my proposed amendments, which are on the Order Paper today. I was actually heard very well and amicably. They spoke to me very well and they fully agreed with the proposed amendments. I have seen the Report and to my utter surprise, I do not know what changed and when it changed. Those proposed amendments were totally rejected. Not even one was carried. Sincerely, this was not a harmonisation process; this was not winnowing, as we know it under Standing Order No.131. This was a sham exercise to try and please those who had proposed amendments, while the Committee knew very well that it was not going to allow any of them for extraneous reasons, and reasons that cannot be explained in this House. 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."
}