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"id": 182965,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Ethuro",
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"legal_name": "Ekwee David Ethuro",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to contribute to this Motion and commend my good friend, who is also my neighbour from Marakwet West for bringing up this Motion which seeks to make each and every constituency a district. When the current President of this country was being inaugurated at Uhuru Park, he stated very clearly that the era of roadside Presidential instructions or directives or Executive decrees had come to an end. There is now a mad rush towards turning each and every small place into a district. This is not only happening in Kenya, but also in Uganda. It is an East African disease! There are areas that deserve to be made districts. There must be a clear-cut rationale to do so. In fact, I hope that when the Minister will be responding to this Motion, he will look into the real rationale for the creation of a district. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, more often than not, we are told about providing services to the people. When you look at which areas need more of those services than others, they are areas in northern Kenya. However, what obtains is that a place like Turkana District which is 77,000 square kilometres or Marsabit District which was 78,000 square kilometres before it was split into Chalbi and Moyale districts--- This House must represent Kenya. When you look at the combination of districts, it was double the size of Nyanza and Western provinces. Any elementary student of mathematics must have appreciated the concept of BODMAS. When we have a district being turned into more than one province, then there must be a problem. What services are we talking about? We are talking about chronic insecurity! That is one 2908 PARLIAMETARY DEBATES October 22, 2008 criterion that the Minister should mention when he responds to this Motion. I know that this is a motivation for the Member of Parliament for Marakwet West. It is also a motivation that all of us share that among the services we are talking about is to protect the people. What is the business of the Government anyway? Governments are formed for the sole purpose of protecting lives and property. So, when you find that some of the newly created districts do not capture this kind of scenario, then it means that there is a serious problem. The Constitution provides for the creation of constituencies not only based on the population, but also community interests and geographical spread. I hope that when the Minister will respond to this Motion, he will assure us that another criteria that should form the basis for the creation of new districts is the geographical spread. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a country that is not committed to developing its most marginalised people cannot succeed. The Western world is forming around the G8. The United Nations is looking at poverty issues because you cannot assure people of global security if you cannot assure the security of a small group of people. The arguments that have been used against the ASAL areas or the pastoralist areas is that they do not have many people. But those people are not many because the fatalities there are double the national average. So, a child from that area, before reaching the age of five years, he or she has already suffered from kwashiorkor, Marasmus, Measles and all those killer diseases. This is because there are no services there. If these districts were created in such a way that they had a District Medical Officer, District Development Officer, District Commissioner and an OCPD, then those services would be available to the people. In fact, you will be worried that our numbers will multiply a great deal. Currently, we have almost 150 districts. We just heard this morning that there are Members of Parliament who have two districts in their constituencies. How do you attend the District Development Committee, the District Education Board and so on? It is because there was no thinking in the way we were creating these districts. That must stop. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are many Questions that have come to the Floor concerning new districts. Members of Parliament are complaining that the new districts do not have District Officers (DOs), District Commissioners (DCs), OCPDs and so on. Turkana Central Constituency is serving both Turkana Central District and Turkana South District. When we had a massacre at a place called Lokori, the Government could not even give the right statistics because these places are so far from them. We must make sure that there is a DC and an OCPD for the newly created districts. That is the only reason why we are looking for these districts. To multiply them when you do not have adequate resources is doing a great disservice to this country. Members of Parliament should be honest enough. If your district is a small one, for example, Kipkelion--- It is a small district and we are happy that we have a district. There is also Bureti District which is only about 10 kilometres from Kericho Town. We should agree. The issue is not just because we are too many in number. Nairobi is now divided into many districts. I even do not know the number. This is a province which should have only DOs managing it like in the days of my good friend, the Minister of State for Defence when he was a Provincial Commissioner. He managed Rift Valley Province, as large as it is, very well. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we want to ensure that there is also devolution of resources to the districts. The creation of districts should be commensurate to the ability and power of the local people to manage their resources. That is why we have a clamour for new districts. That takes us to the new issues of constitutional dispensation. I am afraid that the Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs is going round the country campaigning as the next Presidential candidate. There is nothing wrong with that. The Prime Minister is saying: \"This was only but a stop-gap measure. I am the guy for State House\". The Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs has already declared her interest in the Presidency. It looks like the three October 22, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2909 important people in this country, apart from the President, already have an idea that the new constitutional order will make the Presidency as important as it is. Mr. Kriegler has warned this country that if you think that what took place after the General Election of 2007 is anything to go by, maintain the status quo and we will have no nation come 2012. I want to urge our colleagues, as responsible Members of this House and people that Kenyans elected, people who are not encumbered with the largesse and trappings of power like those seated on that other side, it is time for the men and women of integrity to rise up and stand before this House and demand a new Constitution like yesterday. We will not be satisfied as a House that we are being told that the Constitution will be ready within 12 months. We do not know the beginning and the end of those 12 months. Is that not another promise? Is it not a failed MoU or a failed NARC dream of a new Constitution within 100 days? We cannot take Kenyans for a ride for a long time and expect them to be clapping for us always. There will reach a time when Kenyans will start questioning themselves: \"Why do we have to fight in order to elect people to be Members of Parliament?\" \"Why do we have to pay taxes in order to have a bloated Executive?\" Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, these will be valid questions that we have to ask on behalf of our people before they ask us. We cannot over-emphasise the need for a new Constitution like yesterday and one that will ensure devolution, both of authority and resources, to these districts we are talking about. That will be the only way we can be assured that this country and its citizens are served properly. While still on the districts, we should start now by ensuring that all employment opportunities are done at the district level the way teachers and military personnel are recruited. With those remarks, I support."
}