HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 183162,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/183162/?format=api",
"text_counter": 182,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Midiwo",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 184,
"legal_name": "Washington Jakoyo Midiwo",
"slug": "jakoyo-midiwo"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. In your planning, as a Ministry, plan for the youth, plan for the elderly, plan for our infrastructure; plan for everything; all sectors of our lives and bring those plans before hon. Members, so that we can see them and put in the political will of the people. All we hear about is seminars at the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) or wherever. But there is none where the input of hon. Members of Parliament, as the representatives of the people, is called for! You cannot plan on behalf of our people without the input of the representative of the people! I think that is a mess that we must plug in for the betterment of planning. That is because in any country that is serious about its future, that is a good factor! Actually majority of them! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let us invest the right way. I want to challenge the Ministry that, issues which concern hon. Members--- Some are about some places that are not getting enough resources. The minorities are not being taken care of. But I want to say that we do not want to sound as if it is better for the majority to oppress the minority. But it is also not right that you look after the interests of the minority without looking at the interests of the majority! Therefore, when you divide the CDF, for example, or any other resources, you must look at the population! You must look at the regional and geographical vastness! You must look at poverty indices! How can it be that, a couple of years down the line, Gem Constituency turns out to be richer than Othaya, for example? In those other poverty indices, for example, I think the hon. Member who was contributing was wrong. That is because he had an interest as a former Assistant Minister in that Ministry! Sometimes, we use mischief to bring issues on the Floor of the House knowing that, once we are called the majority, we cannot defend our stand or speak against things which we think are wrong. That is not going to happen very easily! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, having said that, there are only two areas which are open to this country in which, if we invest our monies, even if it is 30 or 40 per cent of our Budget, this country will be transformed immediately! The Port of Mombasa! Take money and do it. You will never regret it! You will, number one, increase what you collect in terms of revenue, instantly. You will just sit there and revenue will come in if you expand the Port and improve its management capability. That takes money! It is better than giving women Kshs1 million per constituency. It is better than giving the youth. If you give 12 youths Kshs50,000, that is only like 2948 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 22, 2008 Kshs3,000 or Kshs4,000 per person. That is not planning. That is not development. Your next area of planning where you should spend some money is Lake Victoria! If it is the second-highest taxpayer in the country, why not invest in it? Why is it all ridden with water hyacinth? It is the Government which should give people cold storage and not Members of Parliament! It is the work of the Government! We only have got those two raw areas. That is because in the sugar and cotton growing areas, things have changed. You must get money from the Port to distribute to western Kenya, where cotton can grow. But you must begin with ready money, which is only in the Indian Ocean and in Lake Victoria. You think about what I am telling you because, in Mauritius, it has been done. In the Port of Djibouti - and the Minister was with me when that part of the story was told by the Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Djibouti. They took over, invested nothing and now, they have been able to construct a dual carriageway from the Port of Djibouti to Addis-Ababa, and going on to Central Africa! I can bet you on that! On the day they will finish that project, you will not have the Port of Mombasa. That is because all the cargo we are playing around with--- We have closed the railway--- Just a few crooks have formed a company and bought Kenya Railways for Kshs1,000. That is all it is!"
}