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"id": 1613514,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1613514/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Nominated, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Sabina Chege",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I am also very happy that now, the debate about funding the exams is done. Because this is something that was being politicised by some people; as to whether our students will sit for exams, or whether the parents will pay for them. It was very important for the Ministry of Education and the Departmental Committee on Education to address this issue of exams. I hope that one day, we do not have to make our exams so complex; that the exams have to have special codes, that they have to go to be printed out of this country, or that our students have to be manned by a police officer when they are doing the exams. Surely, those are young souls. I do not know why we do not train our teachers or the students, because this is a matter of integrity. That you do not have to have the policemen. We do not have to have the police coming in very early in the morning and guarding the exams papers. We can have a way to ensure that we have an exam that is free and fair. I am happy with the new CBE that there is continuous assessment. We do not have to wait for the final eight years of a child’s education, from Class One to Form Four, where one examination determines the life of that student. I am very happy with the new Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) system, and I hope this will minimise a lot of bureaucracy. We have our elderly people on the ground and I hope the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs has addressed this matter. Those elderly persons require social support from the Government, and we have made very good steps on how to finance them through their phones. They are now able to access the money. However, a majority of them are still unregistered. I hope that going forward, when someone reaches the age of 70, they can simply show their identification card and access those funds. A majority of the Members have talked about equalisation and sectoral allocations. I am very sure that agriculture can address the issue of poverty in this nation. We have very good lands. We are located along the equator. I had a privilege of accompanying the Hon. Speaker to Brazil, where the Government is not using a lot of resources but rather, educates their farmers, provides extension officers, gives them proper seedlings and teach them on best farming practices and irrigation. We visited a place similar to our North Eastern region, where one river has been diverted to the shambas . With the support of the Government, farmers are able to farm, and through that, they are doing a lot of exports. I hope that we would one day sit down, drop the politics, analyse how our nation is divided, evaluate which crops do well in certain regions, get farmers, assemble and train them, and give them proper seedlings. I am very sure that we shall develop our nation if we do that. The fact that this Budget is here today, with Hon. Atandi as the Chairman, and with many Members saying he has done a good job, I am convinced beyond any doubt that I was right from the beginning when I said I would not go to the streets. I have been vindicated for choosing to join the current Government because we do not have any other government until the next two years. It has been proven that we can make changes in this House, which holds a lot of powers. We are the ones who allocate resources and we cannot go out and complain. Even if we go picketing or demonstrating, at the end of the day, the power lies with us. I am very happy today that the people of Homa Bay are happy and can smile because they have a stadium. I heard Hon. Rozaah talk about roads in a specific village in her place, and that reminds us as Members that once you are elected, whether on the side of the Government of the day, the minority or majority side, you have the power to lobby and convince other Members of this House to support your area. We do not have to unnecessarily go out and fight. If we hold this House with dignity, I am very sure what happened last year will not happen again this year. If we communicate well to Kenyans about the work we are doing in this House, we will regain our dignity and respect that comes with the honourable name we bear as Members. Today, I will sleep a very happy person knowing that, for once, Members The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}