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{
    "id": 16491,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/16491/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 371,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Keynan",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 41,
        "legal_name": "Adan Wehliye Keynan",
        "slug": "adan-keynan"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, our emphasis is economic diplomacy. Shockingly, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not represented at COMESA. COMESA is a very important regional economic block. Therefore, we failed to put up the map of Kenya when Ministers of Foreign Affairs were meeting. We do not have a diplomatic engagement with Malawi. Our mission is in Lusaka. But we met over 300 Kenyans, who were residents of Lilongwe. That, in itself, is a clear indication that Kenyans are people who are adventurous. Kenyans are people who are clearly business minded. Therefore, what they need is the institutional mechanism of the Government of Kenya to help them legitimately pursue their economic engagements. One other thing that I learnt is that the interest rates amongst the COMESA nations are seriously in favour of Kenya. Is it not something that we should be proud of and defend and ensure that we have footholds in both the SADEC and COMESA dominated areas and East Africa? I want to say this without fear of any contradiction, and it is not that I am supporting the amendment. One of the things, the authors of the current Constitution fail to appreciate is that 67 per cent of the GDP of the entire East African Community bloc is Kenyan. Therefore, as a nation, anything that is going to interfere with the Budget cycle of the East African Community is greatly going to disadvantage Kenyans. Therefore, we will have to think, whether really to eat politics, or really we are going to pursue our economic interests. It is one of the things that we must in a very sober manner, clearly reflect on, because the East African Community today, comprises of member states that were formerly of francophone, members states who were formerly Anglophones."
}