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{
    "id": 1358996,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1358996/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 103,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Laikipia County, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Jane Kagiri",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to support this Motion. Firstly, I take this opportunity to congratulate the 27 nominees because it is a huge fit, considering that they were picked amongst more than 52 million Kenyans. Secondly, I congratulate the Committee for a job-well-done. They have given us a breakdown of the nominees, their strengths and where they think they should do better. Allow me to support this Report but with some advice to the 27 nominees. I would like to remind them that they are going out of the country as representatives of Kenya. We seek that they continue the good bilateral relations we have with the various countries. We request them to foster those relations further. The Prime Ministers of Japan and Czech Republic, and the Chancellor of Germany visited our country. King Charles III visited our country last week. That speaks to very good bilateral relations. We ask the nominees to foster them further and create more opportunities for this country. Secondly, I urge them that when they go out there, they are the parents of Kenyans in the diaspora, including students. They should remember that they are supposed to assist them with any consular services out there. This particular Motion reminds me of my years as a student in a foreign country. When my visa almost expired, I was required to reach out to my High Commission. When I made a phone call there, the officer who received it told me that I would not be the first student to be deported. The immigration officer in the host country looked at me and told me that he would assist me, if those were the kind of officers who were supposed to serve me. I know that my story is one amongst many of Kenyans in the diaspora who struggle. I urge these nominees to defend Kenyans and be there for them. Thirdly, let them remember that they are also supposed to manage crisis in the countries they will be serving. We watch television images of our people who work outside the country suffering. They send videos to their relatives, and those videos are aired by our media houses to inform us that Kenyans are experiencing challenges out there. I challenge these nominees that when they go to serve in those countries, they should be there to assist Kenyans, in case of emergencies. A Kenyan does not need to call out for help back home when there is an embassy or High Commission that is supposed to assist him. Fourthly, they are going out there to promote our country’s tourism sector. I took time to check the leading country in tourism last year. It was France and they had 79 million tourists while Kenya had a paltry 1.5 million tourists. I want these nominees to walk away with these numbers. They should realise that as we complain of the weakening shilling, the only way to bolster it is by increasing our foreign exchange by having more tourists coming to this country. So, let them increase our trade. If you look at last year’s diaspora remittance, it was around Ksh483 billion. It is good for the 27 nominees to remember that we need Kenyans in the diaspora so we can increase our 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."
}