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{
    "id": 181659,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/181659/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 279,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ms. A. Abdalla",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 382,
        "legal_name": "Amina Ali Abdalla",
        "slug": "amina-abdalla"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, my colleagues have elaborated how the lives of Kenyans have been badly affected by the increase of oil prices. The fact that the Ministry has acted impotently shows that it has remained a lame duck. I will not elaborate on how miserable the lives of Kenyans have been made by the prices of fuel because that has been well articulated by my colleagues. My plea is to the Ministry: How could the Ministry have its hands tied by the multinationals if they do not wish to be in that position? It is very simple that the multinationals can be forced to reduce the oil prices. If there are any laws that are tying the Minister's hands and preventing him from forcing the multinationals to reduce the prices, he should bring that law here because there are a lot of hon. Members ready to vote. For once let us have the Executive bring legislation that is pro-poor. We should not protect multinationals all the time. As Members of Parliament, we do not want to be accused of being there for the tobacco, beer and even petroleum lobby. The Minister should bring here that law that has made him a lame duck that all he can do is to plead to the media houses to report which petrol station is charging less so that mwananchi can go there. It is a big shame that we have to stoop to that level as a country that all we can do is to say: \"Tell us which petrol station is charging less so that the mwananchi can go and buy petroleum there.\" Mr. Deputy speaker, Sir, we must start to move from being a copy-cat leadership where we say that the world is moving towards liberalisation, so we must liberalise even when it is killing our people. Children are dying of communicable diseases caused by the fact that parents cannot afford to boil water for them and we are saying here that wananchi should report this to the media. Even affording that airtime to call the media houses and tell them which petrol station is charging less on fuel is a burden to a person who has already been badly affected. Mine is not to say how bad the situation is because the Minister should know how badly the 3112 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE October 29, 2008 common mwananchi is affected, unless he does not live in Kenya. Motions of Adjournment on important matters have remained talk shops. What will the Minister do because we will help him pass any laws, even if it looks illegal and backward to the international community. We do not answer to the international community; we answer to the people who brought us to this House. Thank you."
}