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"id": 183146,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/183146/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Maj. Sugow",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister, Ministry of State for Public Service",
"speaker": {
"id": 142,
"legal_name": "Aden Ahmed Sugow",
"slug": "aden-sugow"
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is one very important office at the district level, that is affiliated to this particular Ministry. That is the District Development Officers (DDOs) offices. The DDOs play a major role in the co-ordination of development activities and plans in the district. They are the Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) holders for most Government Votes, 2942 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 22, 2008 including the CDF. But their capacity in many districts is wanting. I would like to add my voice to a Member who talked here before me, with regard to ensuring capacity building to the DDOs in terms of transport, office space and the necessary fuel for their movement. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, census is becoming a major contentious issue in this country simply because of basing most of our development or resource allocation on these statistics. It is very important that the Ministry carries out a very transparent and an all-inclusive exercise this year to ensure that there will be no bickering in the future again. There are so many foreigners who live in this country. A case in point is the refugees who have been living in parts of this country now for nearly two decades. They have become a permanent feature in this country and we do not see them leaving this country in the near future. They use our resources and they are part and parcel of our population now. I would like the Minister to consider this population since they are also using the resources in this country when doing the census. Today, in one of the camps in my constituency, in northern Kenya, where there are only 30,000 or 40,000 locals, the number of refugees is close to 140,000. They outnumber the locals by almost three times. These refugees have continued to live in the area and increase in population over the last one-and-a-half decade. If we do not consider this population of refugees--- some of them have come with their livestock thereby occasioning pressure on the local environment by using our ground water which was found only 40 metres deep ten years ago, but today it can only be found 200 metres deep the ground. It is getting depleted that fast. Most of our schools are closing because the rural areas depend on livestock for keeping their children in school. They live within a limited radius of the school. If that radius is overgrazed by livestock owned by the refugees, there is desertification and most of the local people now withdraw their children from school to take their livestock away. So, enrolment in our schools is going down tremendously. You cannot, therefore, convince the people hosting the refugees that the refugees are not part and parcel of the population that is using our resources. They must be considered as part and parcel of the population in the area when carrying out the population census. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like the Minister to consider issues such as population and poverty index when considering the 25 per cent allocation after the equal distribution of the 75 per cent of the money among the constituencies. I am of the view that we remove the controversy surrounding poverty index and population by not factoring this issue and, therefore, share the money equally among constituencies. That is the best way to go so that the issues of population and poverty index which have become controversial to the extent of people arguing that this and that statistic is wrong or right can come to an end. Once we decide that money be shared equally among constituencies, that controversy will come to an end. That is what I believe should be done. The CDF has become the most important devolved fund in this country. As we look forward to a new Constitution, we expect devolvement of funds. It is only fair that we continue the trend that we started and devolve more funds through the CDF. Even if you make an angel, the Minister of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 or Minister for Finance, the 97.5 per cent, that is, the bit that goes towards development will always be skewed in one way or another. So, the more we allocate money resources to the CDF, the better. By the way, he is the most accessible Minister in this Coalition Government. I, therefore, urge the good Minister, who is so far doing a very good job, to bring the necessary amendments to the CDF Act so that we increase the allocation to not less than 10 per cent. I do not believe 7.5 per cent is enough. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, some of us come from very vast constituencies cum districts. Whenever there is a meeting, our members travel long distances. In some places there is no public transport. The sitting allowance given to members is Kshs2,500. Probably, that member October 22, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2943 spends Kshs2,000 to reach the venue for one way. He or she will need another Kshs2,000 to travel back. Surely, is Kshs2,500 enough? It is very important that Minister considers increasing the sitting allowance for Constituencies Development Committees (CDCs) members. Even if it means increasing the administration elements, that is, the 3 per cent to 5 per cent or 6 per cent, let him do so. It is very important. Administration of the kitty by the CDC members, their sitting and deliberating on development issues are very important things. The more they sit the better. However, in my constituency, for example, even if they sit once a month, that money is still not enough, especially when you consider the fact that these people need money for transport and accommodation. My constituency is 19,000 square kilometres! When you consider these people travelling to the venue, probably somebody is coming from a place that is 300 kilometres away and when he arrives, he needs to spend the night there because there is no public transport. What will Kshs2,500 do? They need food, accommodation and transport. Even if there is transport, Kshs2,500 is not enough. So, it is a very clear case and I seek the Minister's intervention very urgently otherwise most members of the public will not volunteer to serve in the CDC. This is a job for volunteers! Finally, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to urge the Minister to consider issuing clear guidelines. He should, probably, conduct further workshops for the fund managers. There is always a conflict between the fund managers--- Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks I beg to support."
}