Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1200855,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1200855/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 258,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tana River CWR, KANU",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Amina Dika",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. To begin, let me congratulate you on your election as the Deputy Speaker to the 13th Parliament. We believe that you will preside over the business of this House without fear or favor. I wish to also convey my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Tana River County for having given me the mandate to be their Woman Representative. For those of us who have been elected from the far-flung counties, we fully understand the enormity of the responsibilities placed on our shoulders by our people who constantly brave the extreme drought, insecurity and untold poverty. Therefore, our debut in the 13th Parliament is not, in itself, the change that we seek for our people. It is only an opportunity to make that change. In this regard, I wish to emphasise the sentiments made by my colleagues, especially those who hail from arid and semi-arid areas, in particular Tana River County, which is grappling with severe drought. It is disheartening that in this age and era, our women have to hit the road under the scorching heat and cover tens of kilometres in search of water. In his Address to the Joint Sitting of Parliament, the President announced that the Government had embarked on distribution of relief food to drought-stricken areas. While we welcome this move, I urge the relevant Government institutions, including the County Government of Tana River, to ensure that relief food reaches everyone facing drought across the County, especially areas of Wayu, Hirimani, Assa Kone and Bangale, which are really facing severe drought. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the President also spoke robustly about incentives through fertiliser-subsidy programmes. These subsidy programmes will drive up production for those engaging in crop farming such as maize. I challenge the Government to ensure that livestock farmers are also given the premium they deserve. Pastoralists significantly contribute to the GDP of this country but end up being overlooked or even accorded cosmetic policy intervention. As a daughter of a pastoralist who represents the people of Tana River in this House, I bear sacred responsibility to devise mechanisms and collaborate with the Government to escalate extensive services to livestock farmers, increase purchase of livestock products such as beef, and invest in value addition of livestock products such as beef and milk within our county. The value chain will provide employment to our people and increase their thresholds. Lastly, despite being elected on a KANU ticket, it is worth noting that Tana River County contributed to the President’s victory and is among the 39 counties that provided 25 per cent, actually 44 per cent of the votes – the legal threshold which won the presidency. However, during his announcement of Cabinet Secretaries, none came from Tana River County. I also urge the President to kindly consider the people of Tana River by appointing them as Principal Secretaries, Administrative Secretaries and heads of parastatals. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker."
}