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"id": 183442,
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"speaker_name": "Dr. Otichilo",
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"legal_name": "Wilber Ottichilo Khasilwa",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support this Motion and congratulate the Minister for the presentations he has given to us. However, I would like to make a few comments about this Ministry's Vote. First, I want to also echo what my colleagues have talked about with regard to the CDF. The CDF has contributed immensely to the development of the constituencies and there is need to see to it that the CDF is well managed and particularly in the area of monitoring and evaluation. I feel this is an area where we need to come up with good structures at the constituency level. This will ensure that monitoring and evaluation of the projects is well done so that we can stop any misappropriation of funds. Also, there is the issue of who is responsible and who is the competent authority of the CDF at the constituency level because currently, as my colleagues have said, we are having quite a lot of problems. We do not know whether it is the Fund Manager, District Accountant or the District Development Officer (DDO). So, this is an issue again where the Ministry should come out very clearly and spell out. Is it the Constituency Development Committees (CDCs) who are responsible, because this will make the work of the CDC very useful? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I would like to now go to planning. Planning is a very important ingredient in the development of any country and there can be no planning without data and information. Our situation in this country is that most of our planning is done without authoritative data and, therefore, most of our plans are based on hearsay and people's biased opinions. So, I would like the Ministry to pay special attention to the creation of appropriate data for planning so that planning is done in a manner that is factual and based on information that is credible. In this context, I want to highlight two key issues. The first one is about Kenya Bureau of Statistics (KBS). This is an institution that has been created to collect information but basically, most of the data this organisation collects is mainly socio-economic data. There is very little natural resources information that this institution collects. There is need, given that all our planning and major resources are the natural resources, to have databases on natural resources. This is because 2860 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 21, 2008 they form the basis for our development. So, I would like to see the Ministry coming up with an institution that will provide information on natural resources. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I know very well that we used to have a Department of Resource, Surveys and Remote Sensing in the former Ministry of Planning and National Development which was collecting information on natural resources but unfortunately, this department has been shifted to the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources and, therefore, this information is not readily available to the Ministry. So, I would like to appeal to the Ministry to see how best to co-ordinate so that the data collected by this department is readily available because we are losing most of our natural resources, particularly forests and soil erosion because this information is not readily available. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the next thing I want to talk about data is that I believe if the Ministry is going to be very effective in the long-term, it needs to create extensive integrated databases in the country so that the data is the main weapon and tool they will use in their planning. You will agree with me hon. Members that if you want to get data in this country, it is a nightmare. Each department and Ministry has its own data and access to it is not easy. So, I would like the Ministry, given that it has the role of planning and Vision 2030, to take the responsibility to create national databases so that all of us can have access to this information. The credibility of the data should be guaranteed by the Ministry that we are dealing with credible data. In this connection, I want to appeal to the Ministry to move away from the traditional way of doing things. We are in the 21st Century. We need to use the latest technologies. We need to use technologies that provide data readily. We have satellite technologies that can avail data to us on a daily basis. We have our planing tools which I want to appeal to the Ministry to acquire. The Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is a world renowned planning tool. We have this system in this country but it is not well co-ordinated. So, you will find that most of the small departments have the Geographical Information System (GIS) as a planning tool. But, now, I would like to appeal to the Ministry to take the responsibility of co-ordinating the use of the GIS as a national planning tool, which will allow every Kenyan to have access to information through the internet. So, I am giving the Ministry a big challenge to move away from traditional planning to modern planning. I also want to air my views on the issue of the planned 2009 National Population Census. This is a very important exercise that is only undertaken once in ten years. Therefore, we need to put a lot of effort and energy to ensure that this exercise becomes a success and not what we had in the past. The information on the last population census that we did was not officially released, because of so many problems. I would like to urge the Ministry this time to plan well in advance to ensure that our national population census is undertaken in a more scientific way, so that there is no doubt about the results. In this regard, in carrying out the National Population Census, the most important ingredient in this process is having up-to-date maps. Currently, most of our maps in this country are out of date. So, if we will use the same old maps, we will have a lot of opposition and question marks. So, I would like to appeal to the Ministry to ask the Kenya Bureau of Statistics to start preparing maps. These maps must be in digital form and not hard copies. So, we need to go digital in map preparation, so that when we start the census, we have digital maps which everybody can have access to and certify that they are correct. Therefore, the Ministry has a hard task to work with the Ministry of Lands to update the maps. The easiest way to update maps is to use satellite technology. So, the Ministry should be planning on how to acquire satellite images that will be used to update these maps, so that come June, next year, all these maps are ready. Everybody can certify that this is the way that we are going to carry out our census and these are the maps that we will October 21, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2861 use. Then, we have latest technology on how to conduct national census. We do not need to stick to the traditional way of doing it. So, I would like to ask the Minister to come up and use the latest methods or technology in national census. The other issue that I would also like to highlight is e-governance. I believe that the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 is the one that should spearhead the issue of e-governance. This is a very important component in our country. Unless we put e-governance as a major priority, most of the information that we have will only be within ourselves and the elite group, but the ordinary people will not be able to access it. So, e- governance, to me, is a very important aspect that the Ministry should take into consideration. Lastly, the issue of science innovation and technology is very important. No country will develop without science and technology. We can say that we want to industrialise, but without science and technology, we are just talking. So, I would like the Ministry to spearhead this area with other Ministries, so that science and technology is given priority, particularly on research and development. It is research that brings new ideas and innovations. So, I believe that the Minister has a lot of challenges. I also believe that they have the capacity or they will build it, to be able to take this country to greater heights, so that we move ahead and develop. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support the Vote."
}