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{
"id": 181617,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/181617/?format=api",
"text_counter": 237,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kioni",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 49,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Ngayu Kioni",
"slug": "jeremiah-kioni"
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. The Assistant Minister has kept quiet. I was saying that it is important that we also pay attention to the Kenyans whom we are taxing. They also want to see some form of returns going back to the areas that they live in. It would be sad if this issue is reduced to a point where we look at Mt. Kenya. A lot of this has been said; so, I feel obliged to say something about it. A lot has been said, that there are a lot of resources which have been taken to central Kenya, and other regions have been denied their share because all the resources have gone there. I do not think that is true. The province that is suffering a lot from jigger infestation is Central Province. If there is any other better indicator of poverty levels in a region, I need to be told if jigger infestation is not a top mark. That tells you that the notion that a lot of resources have been taken to central Province is nothing but a perception. Many people have said that what we witnessed at the beginning of this year had to do with distribution of resources. If that is the case, leaders gave the wrong facts to the people. They told people things which were not accurate. When you talk about things like the number of schools in Central Province and fail to tell them that even those schools that are next to my constituency do not benefit us, because there is the quota system--- We can only take 12 students to those schools. If we give half-baked truths then there will be violence in this country. I totally disagree with those who say that it is because of those things that we had violence. It was because of the leaders who went out to tell lies and half-baked truths, without giving true facts. That is why we have envelopes that may need to be opened far away from this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as we continue talking about the review of the Constitution, it is important for us to now think whether we just want to talk about regional balancing or balancing people. These resources are meant to help people. If there are people in a October 29, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3095 region, then they need to be helped. My child should not get less just because he comes from Mt. Kenya. That is discrimination and that child has nothing to do with where he came from and with the resources that may have been allocated to that area in the past. We must wake up to those things and I accept it is not fair to have leaders talking about this all the time. I was in Siakago and the amount of poverty there is unbelievable. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we talk of the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) allocations. I have used the figures we were given by the Ministry; in Ndaragwa Constituency, the amount of money that will go to an individual in Ndaragwa, given our amount of CDF allocation is Kshs406; in Embakasi every individual will get Kshs106; in Galole an individual there will get Kshs826. In one of the constituencies in Samburu District an individual will get Kshs1,156. Yet when we talk here there is this notion that it is central Kenya that is getting all these resources. This kind of perception must be changed. I want to say that even as we look at the Constitution, the issue of equal distribution of resources to the people, and not regions, should be looked into. Look at the transition rate in schools in the recent past; it is the most worrying. There are a lot of issues which are being talked about from very inaccurate information. Those are issues that are just being mentioned to go to the minds of Kenyans, yet they are just perceptions. Until we move out of these perceptions, the factors that guide us in the distribution of the devolved funds will always be elusive. We have figures that were given to us at the beginning of the year, but we were not able to use them because there was a lot of objection. We also need to know how the poverty indices were arrived at. In my constituency, we do not have water, for example, and we are in central Province, where we are bound to have water. Why can you not come to my constituency? I am saying this because all the contributors have narrowed down to the point that because resources went to Mt. Kenya region there is a problem. If we go that route, our leadership capability will also become very doubtful. Our capacity to help this country will be questioned. I have no problem with the issue of affirmative action for areas that have been disadvantaged; but when it comes to distributing money that has been collected as taxes, it should be distributed to individuals, or heads, because those are the people who are going to contribute to the kitty that is going to help the Government in future. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, again we must make sure that all regions are developed. If we are looking for resources to develop the regions, we must ask ourselves where the resources come from. If there are regions that have better resources for the Government to generate more revenue, then it is only good that some attention is paid to them. My final statement is that I come from Ndaragwa Constituency where we grow pyrethrum. I know there is a rescue package for the sugar-cane farmers and coffee farmers, but there is no rescue package for the pyrethrum farmers. The cash crop has died in that region and the poverty levels have gone up, because of this unequal distribution of resources. I support this Motion but we have to understand the factors we are using, and, as leaders, live up to our calling."
}