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{
    "id": 1483172,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1483172/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 336,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "have not heard of the commitments that the county governments made when they visited the place yesterday to attend that commissioning, but I expect to hear from them. They are also part and parcel of the plan to establish libraries in the rural areas, so that we can encourage our people to read. We cannot claim to be literate and knowledgeable unless the literacy levels in the country improve. A literate society is a developed society. We are debating a very important Bill, which I urge my colleagues to pass. Hon. Wanyama has committed that the Committee will be proposing some amendments to the Bill. We will stand with him during the Committee of the whole House. We will give him the support he deserves so that we make the Bill better. Kenya is known the world over for many attributes, most of them being firsts. Those are in cultural matters, sports or other spheres and avenues. Documentation is limited, which is why this Bill should be passed by this House, so that we can improve our literacy through libraries. Libraries are not just custodians of books. Our art and culture will be stored in libraries. That is why I am proud to have a library in Tharaka because we are known for our vast culture. We are also known for our art, including carvings, which are also famous in Ukambani. We are very good at making carvings and traditional weapons. All that is worth being placed in a library where future generations can get knowledge of how it used to be in the past. We should not only emphasise on Western education. We must also preserve African education. Much of it is transmitted orally from generation to generation. However, today we are able to document and record those oral histories into books, which we and our future generations can use, so that we do not lose our African values. When the colonialists came, they made us believe that our culture was primitive. Everything we did was primitive and needed to be discarded, whether it was our music or our form of education. I have no idea why they said that our music was primitive or that our form of education did not qualify to be called an education. They also said that our culture and mode of dressing were not worth keeping. However, the Maasai were able to resist this. Today, they are celebrated world over. If you talk about Kenya, people will tell you that it is known for three things. First, there is excellent wildlife. That cannot be gainsaid. Secondly, it has a culture that has been preserved through the Maasai. Thirdly, we have sports. Great sportsmen and athletes are found in the Republic of Kenya. Those are our accolades. If we do not document all this, what will happen to us? We will be lost. There is a Kiswahili saying that states: If you lose your culture, you become a slave. We do not want to become slaves to the rest of the world. Let us encourage the culture of having libraries, especially now that they are devolved. We have the county governments which are spread across the Republic. Libraries should be devolved down to the villages, so that people are able to access books, cultural practices and everything else that is beneficial to us. This is a very important Bill with various provisions. I urge Members to go through it and understand. It now takes over from the Kenya National Library Service Board. The Board will be an integral part of the Service. With those very many remarks, I support the Bill."
}