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"id": 1456619,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1456619/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4009,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Thika Town, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Alice Ng’ang’a",
"speaker": null,
"content": "There are so many cuts in this budget, but we have to live with it because that is how things are. We have to live within our means. Our roads are in a very pathetic state but, from this budget, we have reduced Ksh14 billion that is meant for roads. Following the floods that we had two months ago, I want to request the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Public Works to look at the critical roads that need to be repaired since we are not starting new projects. That is because we do not have enough money. Starting new projects means going out there to borrow, whereas we do not have the means to repay the existing debts. However, from this Budget, what made me happy is the employment of Junior Secondary School interns. That is a win for them because they are many. They are 46,000 in number across the country. This is good for them because they were really looking forward to be employed. After the Finance Bill 2024 was dropped, there was a possibility that they were not going to be absorbed by the Government but, when you look at these Estimates, I have seen that they have been factored in. Before we dropped the Finance Bill, 2024, we had talked about sanitary towels, and said that they were going to be manufactured locally. Before the austerity measures were undertaken, those sanitary towels were going to be manufactured in Kenya, thus offering many employment opportunities to our young men and women. We were supposed to buy from Kenya; thereby building our economy. However, when you look at things, we have a shortfall when it comes to sanitary towels for our children, which is a very important issue for our young girls both in primary and secondary schools. As things are, the budget of Ksh940 million for buying sanitary towels for them has not been reduced. Another thing that was in the Finance Bill that was dropped, but is not in the Supplementary Estimates, is electricity connectivity across the country. Every constituency was to receive Ksh50 million to put power where people have never seen power since Independence. Going by these Estimates, that allocation has been reduced. What has made me happy today is the feeding programme for vulnerable children in arid areas. I am happy for them. Without food, children cannot concentrate in school. Once they are given that money, at least, they will be going to school while looking forward to be fed. I am a champion for children. I like it when children are given their privilege at whatever stage of their lives. They are the next leaders of this nation. They will be the core component of our nation. So, we need to take care of them at their young ages. Our young men and women, the Gen. Zs, said they want to have a conversation. That conversation is very healthy. They woke us up from slumberland and told us what we need to relook at. They did a very good job. We heard them and we continue listening to them. As Members of Parliament, we will go back home and all of us are going to have a conversation with the Gen. Zs so that they can tell us how they feel and how we should run this nation. But I condemn those who are taking advantage of that conversation. It is a very healthy conversation that we are having right now. Those who are coming to hijack a conversation that was started by our young men and women are selfish people and they should stop. The Gen. Zs meant well for this nation. They were saying we needed to implement austerity measures in this nation. They said we should stop wastage. They had a very good narrative for all of us and for this Republic of Kenya. I want to tell those who are taking advantage of this situation that we have only one country called Kenya, and it is our motherland. If they want to have their own maandamano, they should stop hijacking our conversation with our young men and women. What they are doing is wrong. Looting other peoples’ property is very bad because people have worked very hard to acquire what they have. As we continue to have a conversation with our young men and women, 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."
}