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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have got the Kazi Kwa Vijana money. If we really want this money to assist the youth, we should ask the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to actually take charge of it. But we have devolved it so much that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. The youth do not even know what programme is supposed to be where. There is a problem here. We cannot fight poverty by throwing money at it. We do not throw money at poverty to reduce it. That is what this Budget is trying to do. Throwing money at poverty! No! Poverty has got very many reasons it exists. It might not just be because of money, but because they cannot retain the money they get. What have we done to stop this? This Budget has been praised by everybody, but I am sorry to sound different. There is, indeed, a big problem with this sort of Budget. As the hon. Minister has just said here, roads which have appeared on the Budget before have never been done. There is Road C33 running from Tarbo through Sehendu to Endebess. Quite a lot of money was allocated to it, in 2007/2008 Financial Year, but that money disappeared. The road was never done. Right now, it has only Kshs5,000. There was a big water project, Nzoia West Water Project, money was allocated in 2007/2008 Financial Year, but we do not know where that money went. It is not even factored in anymore. In other words, dear Members, especially Backbenchers, we are still in trouble. We still have to trek to the Ministers office to get anything done. Do not think that this Budget has solved our problems. It has not. We cannot get important things into the Budget. What this Budget has done it to appease the people, so that they do not agitate too much. The Minister loudly said he has put the money into the constituencies and the MPs should be getting involved. Will the MPs be involved? If they will be involved, what is there in law that allows MPs to be involved? If there is nothing in law allowing MPs to be involved, sorry, the civil servants will not allow us to get involved. We know them. They have been trained that way. That is how they have survived all these years. How will they change? Unless, we are assured that now we will be throwing in some of them. So far, the more they take, the higher they climb. The more incompetent, the higher they rise. One of the criteria for rising in the Civil Service is the more incompetent you are, the higher you rise. The more money you steal, the higher you rise. I fear that what we have done here, we have just allowed it to trickle down. We have talked about trickle down of the economy, I do not think we mean trickle down of corruption. Unless we have a law that will allow us MPs to control this and be part of it, it will be difficult. If I am part of it and the moment I leave they do their things, I will not care. If they decide to buy a brick at Kshs10, what am I supposed to do about this? Kenya is ready for takeoff. As I have said before and I would like repeat, development is not accident. We have to sit down and plan for these things. We need a proper plan and a way of implementing it that is sound. It is not just something you wake up and say: Let us do this or that. Yes, it sounds very well. I really do respect the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance. I am sure he means well, but I plead with him that he should go a step further and try to put in laws that will recognise MPsâ role in management of these funds, so that we are able to direct development that he is wishing for this country."
}