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{
    "id": 1519441,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1519441/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 196,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "we want to go back to history and dwell on the justices or injustices that were committed to us. We will only be respected in Africa if we build a strong economy. Our economy is not growing at the rate that will make Kenya a superpower in Africa. We cannot afford to be growing at 4 or 5 per cent when Tanzania is growing at 7 per cent. We must put all our thoughts, attention and efforts on growing an economy and the least metric should be 7 per cent annual growth. That is when we will be respected. We have this misconceived notion that Kenya is still a great economy. We could be great now. However, if you remember the mathematics of approaching speed, there are smaller economies that are approaching us at a higher speed than we are moving. If we are not careful, we will be the smallest economy in East Africa. We must spend on our military. This is a conversation we must have. We are spending only 1 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the military, yet we are seeing guns and drones pointed at Kenya from all corners. The war in Syria has confirmed that your enemy does not need to be your neighbour and that Turkey can hammer Syria from wherever they are. Even Kenya can be hammered from Yemen or the United Arabs Emirate (UAE). This is the time for us to ask ourselves; is our military getting the right budgetary allocation and are they making the right decisions with those budgets? Every time we go for a public holiday, we see those jets flying past. To be honest, since I was a little child, they are the same jets I have been seeing flying past. I wonder if there was a serious strife or battle between Kenya and a neighbouring state whether those jets will be airworthy or able to go and attack the enemy. We must have that conversation. This idea of saying that the military is a closed black box that we cannot talk about should stop. If we have a weak military, no one will respect us. You have seen instances where in the old saying that the tail can wag a dog. You are seeing a tiny country, and I am not going to mention names, being able to ambush, attack, invade and overthrow the president of another country which is 100 times its size. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a conversation we must have. We must come back to our education system. At some point, Kenya was a regional superpower because of our advanced education system. You had Ugandan professors coming to teach here; children coming from other countries to study in Kenya. Diaspora Remittances is our highest forex earner, because we trained and built a very strong pool of professionals. I am willing to partner with a government that is willing to look at the CBC and to make the right decision to make the CBC fit for purpose, so that our education system still becomes attractive to the region. Regarding our health sector, people from Tanzania, a long time ago used to ask why they should you go to London for treatment when they could come to Nairobi Hospital. Why should you go to Germany when you can come to Aga Khan Hospital or even Kenyatta National Teaching and Referral Hospital?"
}