HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 145911,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/145911/?format=api",
"text_counter": 185,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Finally on education, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, problems affecting the school feeding program need to be addressed. I have talked about food shortages. In many areas, people have no food and the school enrolment is dropping because the children have nothing to eat. In some districts, the school feeding program is going on in some schools but not all. Therefore, I urge the Minister to look for additional funds to supplement the funds that are being used by the World Food Program (WFP) to ensure that all primary school kids are provided with lunch, so that they can learn effectively. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I also want to applaud the Minister for providing funds to employ nurses to work in the health institutions in the constituencies. For the last few years, constituencies, through Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), have developed many dispensaries. They have completed and furnished them but they have remained idle due to lack of staff. I am happy because in my constituency, Mwingi South, I have no less than 15 such institutions. They were funded by CDF - which is Government money. They were completed and furnished, but they have been unable to function. Now, through the Ministerâs action of hiring nurses, I am sure my people are going to benefit from his initiative and I thank him. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Minister talked about a very important issue of exempting duty for investors in the exploration of oil, gas and geothermal power. But the Minister missed a very important point. He did not mention anything about coal exploration, which is in plenty in my Mwingi South Constituency. It is high time he did that. I hope he will note that when he comes to respond tomorrow. We would like to hear him tell us why the Government is ignoring that important mineral called coal, which is far much cheaper than oil in generating electricity. We would like to see the Minister giving incentives to investors who wish to invest in coal, so that it can be mined in large quantities to generate electricity. That will go a long way in improving the living standards of my people. It is the only mineral that is found there. The Ministry of Energy has been dilly-dallying in the area, saying that it is investigating for the last ten years. So, I think it is high time the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance took action. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to talk about pensions. This House, every now and then, urges the Ministers of Finance to hasten the payment of pensions. This morning, there was a Question of a pensioner who has not been paid his pension dues for the last 29 years. The Government can have no justification for delaying pensions for pensioners and, therefore, the Minister ought to have mentioned something about what his Ministry is doing to ensure that the Government releases pension dues to pensioners on time and, where it is not released, it is done in accordance with the amendment to the Pensions Act that was passed by this House some years ago. Also of interest, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, was to note that the Minister did not increase pension dues for pensioners. Those are people, some of whom are earning as little as Kshs500! Those are people who have no recourse and who cannot do anything. They cannot go on strike but they have been ignored by the Government! Those are people who provided service to this nation during those difficult years and yet, they are languishing at home in poverty! Therefore, I would like to urge the Minister to consider increasing pension dues to all pensioners who earn a minimum of Kshs10,000, so that they can be able to live decent lives like other Kenyans. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, that is a very important issue. I think that the Minister, perhaps, by bad luck, omitted it. I wish that he can record, note and ensure that our pensioners are not ignored all together."
}