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{
    "id": 1459701,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1459701/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 323,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Yatta, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Robert Basil",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you for giving me the Floor. Like my friends have already said, allow me to thank the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee for bringing this Bill to the House. This Supplementary Appropriation Bill has some positives and some flaws. I will begin with the positives. I will start with the education sector. For sure, absorbing the 46,000 teachers is a plus on this Bill because many teachers are languishing in poverty. A majority are not employed. Most parents are shouldering the burden of paying Boards of Management (BoM) teachers. In actual sense, the Government should pay teachers for the taxpayer. My Yatta Constituency is a case in point where more than 30 per cent of teachers are BoM teachers. That is a big burden to parents who are struggling to not only exist, but also meet basic needs in their families. It is very unfortunate that they have been doing so yet they are paying taxes. That is why I applaud this Bill for considering recruiting 46,000 teachers to pensionable and permanent terms. Allow me also to appreciate the consideration of medical interns under the health sector. For sure, you know sick people are a sick nation. It is very unfortunate when we do not consider recruiting medical practitioners to support promotion or discharge of health services. It is also worrying to see medical doctors striking at this point of time. It is a good thing to consider medical interns. That is why I applaud the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee for considering that. Doctors are not supposed to be on the streets. They should be in hospitals or health centres delivering services to our working force. Three, allow me to appreciate the recognition of the police. Remunerating the police under this Bill is very important considering the very pertinent role they play to make sure we are safe and to safeguard the country internally. Therefore, remunerating them is positive. I appreciate that. The school feeding programme is important. The Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee said that they have preserved the school feeding programme. I recommend that the school feeding programme be taken to all schools in the entire country and our constituencies. The school feeding programme is an essential component of education simply because students cannot concentrate when their stomachs are empty. I wish to commend the team under the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee for appropriating money for the school feeding programme. Hon. Temporary Speaker, let me begin with electricity. In my constituency, more than 40 per cent of households are not connected to electricity. Actually, when a person is connected to 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."
}