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"id": 1199023,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1199023/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Embakasi West, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Mark Mwenje",
"speaker": {
"id": 1429,
"legal_name": "George Theuri",
"slug": "george-theuri"
},
"content": "Land ownership is one of the biggest issues that we have in my constituency. People do not have title deeds. Mowlem Ward has a population of 89,000, where 70 per cent of the Ward is adjudicated land. So, 70 per cent of those people do not have title deeds. Whenever you hear of demolitions in Nairobi, this is the ward that always has the highest number. That has to end. When I talk about women and youth empowerment, it is straightforward. They need funds, training, jobs and opportunities. That is what the women and youths in my constituency have been lacking and that is what they sent me here for. With regard to our sports infrastructure, I come from a constituency which does not have any stadium or public grounds where some of the young men can engage in their sporting activities. This is quite unfair considering that quite a number of those facilities are in Nairobi. But my constituency lacks them. Those are some of the things, and many others, that I would want to look into. Hopefully, going forward, I will represent the people of Embakasi West. Even if we are past that issue, I did not get a chance to contribute to the President’s Speech. There were some positives. He spoke about retaining the NG-CDF. As a Member of Parliament from Nairobi, I felt that the 25 per cent that is based on the number of wards punishes some of us. We have some of the most populous constituencies in Nairobi. That 25 per cent should have considered population size rather than the number of wards. Going forward, that is something that I will seek a review of and, hopefully, get more funds for some of the Nairobi constituencies, as I will explain a bit later on. The President spoke about education and health, which is good. But it is time that the Government gave us direction on the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) and 8-4-4 System of Government. We cannot gamble with the lives of our children. Some of us who are young have children going through this educational system. We need to be sure. We cannot be changing it after every 10 years. Whatever happens or comes out, it must be final and must last a generation. Having Cabinet Secretaries coming to the Floor of the House is a good idea, but they should not come here to grandstand. Hopefully, they will be fair and respond to both sides. The hustlers’ fund is a good idea, but I felt that the President’s Speech limited it. When he said that it will be issued through technology that is not the promise that he made while he was campaigning. At some point, he had said that he would make it quite easy and have it distributed by Members of Parliament. The hustlers’ fund should be made accessible and quite easy for people to apply. I also wish to note that our country seems to be suffering from a campaign hangover. We even saw it here today. It is time that we accepted that somebody won. We competed and elections are over. We cannot keep campaigning. The President said that he is the bigger brother now. My colleagues from the other side need to recognise that they are the bigger brothers now. Let us not grandstand anymore. Let us allow our country to move forward. Yesterday, the President was in Embakasi Central, and he visited my constituency. Some of the things that I felt he should have mentioned in his Presidential Speech, he did so while out there going round. Today, the Leader of the Majority Party accused the Leader of the Opposition, Raila Odinga of going round. The President is doing that. He spoke of quite important issues. At times, it is during these public gatherings that we are able…Actually, that is why all of us are here. Without those public gatherings, none of us would have been elected. Yesterday, I heard the President speak about increasing the number of schools in Nairobi, ensuring that we have title deeds to sort out all the land matters in Nairobi within 12 months, and opening the markets. Coming to the substantive Motion on the development of a school-feeding policy, I recognise that the Governor of Nairobi County has proposed that all Members of Parliament from Nairobi County should build kitchens, so that he can facilitate the school-feeding 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."
}