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"id": 1517387,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1517387/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
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"id": 13217,
"legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
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"content": "Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi who went to Jevanjee Gardens and tried to demystify what the Finance Bill is, and what is in there, so that we go ahead with the facts before what Donald Trump calls fake news, continues to reign among us. You know this country; we thrive on fake news. I am happy that the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the Treasury is taking the lead. I want to challenge Members, as we do budget Policy Statements, I want to challenge members of the public and members of the National Assembly Finance and Budget. As they go around the country, they should at least ensure they go through 290 constituencies for this public participation and even on other Bills. So, the reason the Finance Bill 2024 led to uproar is because there was a lot of misinformation. People are saying you want to tax the dead, you want to tax land, but when you read our Finance Bill, you agree with me on what is happening. Let us use the medium, I saw today you were in Citizen, the State of the Nation, and you are also doing civic education because you are telling Kenyans the facts so that people do not thrive on misinformation. Number two, I am happy that public officials will be taken through mandatory in Clause number five. It says- “Public officials, including elected, and appointed officials at National, shall undergo mandatory civic education.” Can you believe, for example, in Nandi today, if you go to Nandi County Assembly and ask for the budget, no one will give it to you, not knowing that under Articles 34 and 35, there is a right to information and there is a right to media freedom? You go to the Governor's Office in Nandi, we have demanded the budget, we have demanded annual development plans, County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), the status of projects, but they will never give you, yet it is a public document and it is a right of every Kenyan. I have even seen in Homa Bay or Nandi or Bomet when they are doing public participation for the Finance Act or Finance Bill of County Assembly, they will call a few characters, give them soda and mkate and say they have done public participation. And they say, sign your name and Identity Card number and phone number. Then they take it back, yet civic education has not been done. What is the content that is inside that Bill that we are proposing? So, I am happy that all officials should know that public participation precedes civic education. Let us as leaders, even though I know politics is sweet, you go to a funeral, you go to a public function, let us use even one or two minutes to engage our people and educate them on the roles that we should give. Even on civic education, I know, most of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been funding this issue of civic education across many other areas, but I am happy there will be a structure that will continue to engage them. I want to challenge that there is a budget. You know, civic education, and you know Sen. Ogola has been a County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in former Cyprian Awiti’s Government. She knows very well, she will tell you from my experience, that most of the civic education awareness was being financed by NGOs. There was no allocation of budget,"
}