Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1521336,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1521336/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 217,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kapenguria, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Samwel Chumel",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you for also giving me the opportunity. Sometime back during colonial times, where I come from was a closed district. That is why the Kapenguria Six were taken to that place. Nobody could come from here to that place. It was totally closed. Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965 came in after Independence. It was not until 2010 that we saw light at the end of the tunnel. During the time, West Pokot was a closed district. I have also said that we only got missionaries who came through Uganda and not even Kenya. The Catholics came and settled in a place called Tartar. Only those missionaries lifted that area to where it is now. They are still operating there. In fact, we have a girls' national secondary school in Tartar, which is doing very well. Then, the Protestants settled in Nasokol, where we also have a wonderful girls' secondary school, a primary school, and other institutions. The word of God spread all over. Muslims came from Uganda, not Kenya. Now that the good Kenyans who drafted the 2010 Constitution considered us and remembered that some Kenyans were suffering somewhere. Somebody has said that we are the 14 ASAL counties here. A timeline of only 20 years was given to improve disadvantaged areas to come to the status of others. Unfortunately, nothing is going on now, and we have only started. I was there and was still a Member of Parliament. This is my fifth time here. People were called for public participation. All the people in West Pokot came to a place called Mtelo Hall. Others went to other places. We agreed to improve some areas. We were considering even schools. I started class one in 1972. I was having my Class One to Class Four lessons under a tree. There were problems. Blackboards and books were flown in. Sometimes, we ran to collect the books. It was already noon by the time we came back. We would just sing \" naskia sauti, sauti ya mama. Kwaheri mwalimu’’ . Everything would remain under that tree. We prayed and thanked God when the Equalisation Fund came. We said God had given us good people and leaders who listened to us and said, “Some areas are suffering\". Now, it is not working. We do not mind if they extend the Equalisation Fund to 20, 28, 34, 38, 40, or all the way to 47 counties. They are also Kenyans who may be suffering. However, we also need to increase the amount that goes into the kitty to cover these other areas. I am a teacher by profession and have been with people for a long time, seeing what they are doing. As the leadership of this House and Kenyans, my prayer is to be considerate. We should ensure these people get whatever is given to them. Unfortunately, other counties are now being brought in. It means there is no proper administration and a problem if, for instance, a county government constructs a road and puts money into it only to claim later that it is by the Equalisation Fund. I pray that the Committee in charge will go down to see what is happening. I am happy that from the time we began talking about the Equalisation Fund, most colleagues have really been talking. Let us keep the spirit so that we see the lives of our people and Kenyans improved."
}