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"id": 182952,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Midiwo",
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"content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion. What this Motion is seeking is something which this country should have done a long time ago for the sake of distribution of the much needed and limited resources that we have. I want to begin by saying that Siaya District is the largest district in the country. We are 640,000 people in one district even though this country has districts with 40,000 people only. Last month, during the AP recruitment exercise, each district was allocated an average of 18 recruits. So, the three constituencies in Siaya District shared 18 slots. Then single-district constituencies October 22, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2899 also get the same number. How are my people expected to feel? In any case, at the beginning of the campaigns there were 72 districts. Now, they are about 150 districts. That means there are only about 60 districts which are still large. If you rationalise, this Motion is actually as good as implemented. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, last year when we went to Siaya with President Kibaki, Archbishop Ondiek, Mr. Weya and I asked the President to divide Siaya District because of its population and sheer vastness. He told us, \" hizo zimepeanwa, sasa hakuna \". The following day the President went to Hamisi and divided one constituency into two districts. How are our people supposed to feel? It is time for the Government to bring down unnecessary animosity towards it. We need to make the people accept that it is normal to engage the Government, have different opinions and still be part of the same country. I think this country owes our people that kind of thing. The other day when there was the passing out parade of Administration Police officers, the whole of Siaya District only got 12 police officers and the order was, \"take all of them to Ugenya Constituency\". What happens to Alego and Gem constituencies with all the insecurity? We had to negotiate. I thank the District Commissioner (DC) for being so much more rational than the politicians up here. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, for Constituencies that remain in large districts, the issue of population must be the key in distribution of resources. We must use the population! If we have a district with 20,000 people, when distributing resources, you must consider that population. In that case, many parts of our country require affirmative action. The parts of the country which have been considered \"politically incorrect\" must be catered for. Issues of resources are not issues we can sit back and turn our backs to. We know that if you are in a constituency with a district, there are several advantages. Like my colleague, Mr. Kiunjuri said, there is a DC and several District Officers (DOs). If they are well equipped even the Questions we ask here in Parliament every day, about somebody stealing chicken and not being arrested, will be a thing of the past. This is because services will go closer to the people. We need to figure out how to equip our constituencies. We do not even have to call them districts. We only need to have a proper Government administrative unit at every constituency level. That way, a Member of Parliament will stop being a policeman and politician at the same time. That is what Members of Parliament are doing right now. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, at Bomas, we sat as a nation and agreed on that. It was not a contentious issue. We need to implement it. I want to agree with Mr. Kiunjuri again that the issue of the review of Constitution is not something we want to go into Christmas discussing. Let us agree that we do this review of the Constitution and get over with it. Twenty years down the line, I think the issue is now sour in the brains of Kenyans. We do not seem to want to do the right thing. We promised these things during campaign but when it is convenient, we want to go in there and be like others. I think that is a very sad thing. We need to stop somewhere. The world is changing and we need to figure out a Constitution which will enable Kenyans to feel safe. It will enable Kenyans to think that if it is budget time, the resources are not only going to be pushed to the corners where the President, the Prime Minister, the Vice-President or the Permanent Secretary come from. That is a real concern to Kenyans. Kenyans and even Members of Parliament need to feel safe that even though they are not Ministers, things will still be okay in the Constituencies they represent. That is a constitutional issue which we must address as a Parliament and a nation. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I would like to talk about service provision, be it the road network, police security, education or any social issue. They can only be addressed if this country devolves to the grassroots. We need to have a working Government at the sub-location 2900 PARLIAMETARY DEBATES October 22, 2008 level and constituency level. As we create all these districts, we need to figure out who the DCs will answer to. They should answer to the people. They must be accountable to the people that they will be governing not some Central Government somewhere which has no idea about what is happening in the constituencies. Finally, the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) has been used to construct many facilities. For example, dispensaries, police stations and many other facilities constructed by Members of Parliament in their constituencies. However, because of the skewed distribution of resources, personnel and money, some of these facilities are white elephants. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in my constituency I have about three police stations which we constructed almost five years ago. It has been like we are begging the Government to staff them. Just last month, near one of the police stations, a man was hacked to death by mysterious people. His jaws were split and the private parts were missing. Two weeks later, another person was killed and his private parts were also missing. All one can do is call the police but nothing happens. To me, I think if we had a DC in the middle of my constituency and other resources, such things would be things of the past. We owe that to Kenyans. I beg to support."
}