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{
    "id": 135621,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/135621/?format=api",
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    "content": "European Union. At that time, it used to be the European Economic Community (EEC). That project needs to be looked into. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other aspect I want to touch on is that of poverty index. The poverty index seems to be an abstract thing. It does not take into account the problems and salient issues in various districts. You are told that the poverty index in a given district is such-and-such. For example, in my district, we were told that it is about 50 per cent, but people go without food. They cannot even afford to pay school fees. Eight out of every 10 people earn less than US$1 per day. I want to urge the Ministry to ensure that they do a thorough job next time they compute, taking into account all the information that is supposed to be taken into account, geographical situations, infrastructure, educational facilities and health facilities, so that the index can be representative, and as correct as possible. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other aspect I also wish to support is that of using constituencies as the planning units. You heard Mr. Okemo talk about districts that are elastic; I agree with him, although I support the creation of new districts. We need to have constituencies as centres of planning because that is where leaders are elected, and leaders are the ones who know the problems of the constituencies. The other area I want to touch on is Vision 2030. You heard the Minister say that the funds allocated to the Secretariat is inadequate. Everybody, in all the Ministries, is talking about Vision 2030. If the Ministry cannot operationalise the Secretariat, how can we expect plans by other Ministries to be implemented? To me, the Ministry is the nerve centre. That is why it is named Ministry of Planning, National Development and Vision 2030. If they cannot operationalise the Secretariat, it means that Vision 2030 will be a mirage. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, I want to comment on the CDF. I wish to also commend the Minister for the prompt manner in which they release the CDF money. They do it promptly. However, I want to suggest that instead of releasing the money on a quarterly basis, particularly money for infrastructural projects, they should be able to release it half-yearly. They should release 50 per cent instead of 25 per cent. This will enable constituencies and Constituencies Development Committees (CDCs) to implement programmes faster. While still on CDF, I also wish to support my colleagues who suggested that the Minister moves quickly to bring an amendment to this House to change the law to increase the bursary allocation from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}