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{
    "id": 1494211,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1494211/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 648,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Buuri, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Mugambi Rindikiri",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. This is a critical topic for discussion in this country. As it is right now, the situation may look like a few are getting while others are not. But, we must not lose sight of some historical factors that have led to where we are and how we have created a bit of disparities. The Constitution has brought a bit of checks and balances on how we have been employing people in this country. We should also not lose sight that this Report is biased in the sense that they have only brought in the public sector. They have not addressed the private sector. I do not know what they will do or why they avoided consulting the private sector. I know some of the private sector and NGOs will practise what our Constitution dictates. From that perspective, when we are talking about cohesiveness in terms of employment, it needs to be very broad. Even if it means finding a way of addressing the same matter with the private sector, so be it. We should look at why people are employed in a particular place. Specialised institutions, whether private or public, look at qualifications and not where a person comes from. If you go to Nairobi Hospital, you will meet many professors and doctors from Nyanza. That is common sense. If they specialise in that area, we cannot say: “Let us go and get some other people so that they can fill the gap.” So, qualification is key, and some of our public institutions dictate that we look at that. I come from a very highly cosmopolitan constituency. My constituency has all the 44 tribes, or whatever we call them. It has Luos, Kikuyus, Merus from Tigania, Igembe, Tharaka and Chuka. We also have the Embu. I have people from everywhere in the country. I cannot say I will not employ a particular individual because I am supposed to fulfil a certain aspect. I have to be careful because there are certain tribes in my constituency with a large population. The diversity of my community dictates how people will be absorbed in the private or public sector that is operating in my constituency. On the issue of information, there are very many people who do not get a lot of it. Currently, the Public Service Commission (PSC) is setting up its website. How many people have the digital capacity to access the PSC portal to learn about the kind of employment that exists? People in Nairobi will get it very fast. People with iPhones and smartphones, relatives in Nairobi, and Members of Parliament will get it. But there are those poor kids out there in villages who have no information. This means that those who are digitally enabled are the ones who are going to get that information and apply. The Committee needs to be sensitive to such matters. High-population areas with high population densities are natural. We cannot ignore it. If we have to put weight on some measures, some will be more than others. I believe we have not reached a point where we have to say we have 100 per cent of it. We can try to play politics with some of those things. The Committee Report needs to address those factors, not the obvious ones. You walk into an institution, and then ask how many Luos, Kambas, Merus and Luhyas are there, and you are given the report. I do not believe that will sort out the problem. Hon. Temporary Speaker, some of those things require long-term thinking. Our economy is growing, and the public sector is shrinking every day in this country. Sooner or later, we will find ourselves with a very small public sector. Will we be fighting and saying the Constitution will address a very small sector? With all due respect, we have to start looking at other things from another perspective."
}