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"id": 1555512,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555512/?format=api",
"text_counter": 372,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Orwoba",
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"speaker": null,
"content": "time you are telling them I do not want to ring-fence it under menstrual hygiene products, I am saying that this money for general supplies can be used for sanitary pads. So, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the theft I am talking about is that, you are aware as a cabinet secretary, accounting officer, or an officer of a ministry that the budget is for sanitary pads. However, more often than not in the past, you find that because it is listed as general supplies, that is the same money that is used for Any other Business (AOB) within that ministry. They would then find justifications to say, in any case, we have distributed 300,000 pads and maybe they do not need the other pads. As the women of Kenya, we have always been sidelined when it comes to gender- sensitive budgeting. So, when I talk of theft, I am also talking about theft within the budget allocation, spending of money that is supposed to be for sanitary pads and now is being rerouted to do other things. In the last financial year after we fought and I told the President that we bleed and need more money, he agreed and lobbied the National Assembly and all other actors in terms of budget allocation and we got Kshs1 billion. To date, there is no clarity on how this Kshs1 billion was spent in totality. I have brought a statement on the Floor of this House asking the Accounting Officer in the Ministry of Gender that was handling this money to give us clarity and transparency in terms of how the money came in, how it was spent and how it was distributed and these are the number of people or beneficiaries? We got a very sketchy response. It is another area that I want to see. I want to legislate and go down in the history of this country that for the first time on a matter that deals with women, particularly girls; vulnerable girls. We are choosing to legislate to end that theft in terms of budget allocation, budget expenditure and even the distribution of whatever items that are bought for these beneficiaries who are at the grassroots level. As I get into my conclusion, there was worry that by creating a county-level interdepartmental committee, we are just trying to create positions for Kenyans. I have had many arguments with people in and outside Parliament, in my family sittings, with friends and foes. I asked them, ‘you people do not want this Bill because it is creating another committee at the county level? How do you want ensure that the money is actually appropriated to the beneficiary that it was intended for?’ Someone came up with a suggestion that since bursary is given to every student, why not map out the girls and add the money for the pads into it, so that it can go to all girls to buy pads for them? Let us be honest with each other in this House, who does the bursary go to? It goes to the parent. More often than not, it goes to the father and he will decide on how to use it. Even if it goes to the mother, most of these households have decided that there should be a lot of shaming around menstruation. That is why I have run a campaign over the last three years. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you find that even some of the Members in both Houses; the Senate and the National Assembly, when their daughters or their nieces, come to them saying, please can I have Kshs500 for my personal use? They start asking them, what personal use? Why do you need Kshs500? Mr. Temporary Speaker, we all know very well, unless the Government of Kenya is actually procuring that sanitary towel and giving it down to the beneficiary, if we will now give money that is intended to buy sanitary towels to a father or a mother, we will be The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}