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{
    "id": 137532,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/137532/?format=api",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The intention of the Motion is basically to achieve equal opportunities for all in this country. Within this term of Parliament, this House, in its wisdom, established the Equal Opportunities Committee, which means that it is the desire of all Members of Parliament, the Government and the Kenyan people to provide an opportunity for all to realise our full potential as citizens of this country. First of all, as we thank the President and the Prime Minister, we ask them not to make this Ministry a permanent feature of our Cabinet. This Ministry must remain in our books in as long as it is just necessary. I think it can only be necessary for not more than a decade. For ten years, we run it in order to fast track development and bring this part of the country at par with the rest of the country. Therefore, for it to be a permanent Ministry, will be a disservice to the people in regions affected. So, the first suggestion is for this Ministry to be maintained in place for not more than ten years. Secondly, this Ministry should not be seen as a Ministry for northern Kenya. It must be seen as a Ministry that the Kenyan people require in order to fast track development, because the problems that have happened in this part of the country were not the fault of this Government. They were not the fault of the Kenyan people. It is a historical problem that the Government is beginning to address. Therefore, the starting point is to thank the Kenyan people for accepting it, and thank the Government for having realised that development in this region needs to be fast-tracked in order to bring it at par with the rest of the country. Therefore, what we are asking for is 15 per cent only of the Development Budget. We have calculated this to mean Kshs30 billion. If this Ministry is allocated Kshs30 billion for ten years, for the purposes that I will enumerate, to an extent, we can say that this country is now beginning to realise equal opportunities for all, which is what we want for all Kenyans. This is not for only northern Kenya. It is for all the provinces of Kenya that have had this problem over the years. So, there should be no suggestion in the mind of anybody – Members of Parliament or other people, this desire is only meant to benefit the northern Kenya region. It is not. The mandate of the Ministry suggests that it covers 75- 80 per cent of the Kenyan land mass. It does not cover 10 per cent. It covers Kangundo, Mandera, Moyale and other places. All of us, including the people in the constituency of hon. Kabando wa Kabando, are affected."
}