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{
    "id": 1193629,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1193629/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 354,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ndaragwa, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. George Gachagua",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "As we debate about this fund, I believe its mandate should be widened. I have an example in my constituency where I have started aiding parents to plant food and cash crops during planting season. The students normally cultivate food. They plant maize and it is kept for a whole year’s use. I wish this fund could be increased and we embark on helping the schools to do farming. I believe this food can be used for the school feeding programme. My wish for increasing this Fund is because we have many problems due to it not being enough for things like sports. You will find that the quota given just addresses football. If it was increased a bit, it could cover athletics, volleyball and other disciplines. I believe we have a lot of untapped talent in this country. If we could tackle this issue, we would come up with many sportsmen. We can increase their numbers if we harness the sports programme. When it comes to security, this fund has really helped in bringing about peace to our parents and the community by building chiefs’ offices. We do not build offices for their luxury, but for the people being served there. It is important for them to be comfortable while being served. Therefore, I cannot imagine what was in the minds of these activists when they negated the issue of the NG-CDF. In as much as they are opposing the NG-CDF, their relatives are beneficiaries of bursaries from the NG-CDF. There was one person who was arguing against it and I asked him about it. Fortunately, there was someone from his family who wanted a bursary and I asked him: “Suppose you do not get this, will you support the members of your family who go for this kitty?” He told me that he saw its importance. Some of them are just opposing it for the sake of it and because of the misconception that it belongs to the Members of Parliament. Apart from just increasing the NG-CDF allocation from 2.5 per cent to 5 per cent, I wish its mandate could also increase. As Members of Parliament, we have many problems tackling the many needs of our constituencies. I believe that Members of Parliament are aware that we are where the rubber meets the road. As a Member of Parliament, I am told about virtually everything that happens in my constituency. We sometimes feel helpless because there are needy cases and there is no way we can just let them pass. The effectiveness of the NG- CDF is better than that of any other fund in this country. With those few remarks, I support this legislative proposal to anchor the NG-CDF in the Constitution. Thank you."
}