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"speaker_name": "Mr. Koech",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the Vote of this very important Ministry in this country. The Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 is a very important Ministry to this country. Kenyans today are talking about Vision 2030 as the hope for this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for bringing forward this Budget. However, I would like to mention a few issues regarding what must be done so that, we, as a country, can move forward. One very important thing is planning. As my colleagues have mentioned, without planning, we cannot forge ahead. So, we look upon this Ministry to co-ordinate the plans of all the Ministries in this country. What we are witnessing in this country is Ministries acting on unplanned areas and issues. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for us to succeed as a country and realise Vision 2030, our infrastructure must play a key role. We have seen the roads that we have in this country today. Today, most people who own vehicles are spending a lot of money on repairs. Spare parts are very, very expensive to an extent that, a very simple businessman who joins the matatu industry today, might not realize the profits of that kind of work. That is because a lot of his money will go into the repairs and maintenance. Unless we are proactive on the construction of our roads, we may not go far. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have seen contractors being given work. The same contractors take up to ten years to complete one road. That, to us, means poor planning as a country! Could we, as a country, insist that when a contractor is given work, he should be given enough funds to complete the work within the shortest time possible? In so doing, we shall be able to move far. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as a country, we must realise Vision 2030. We must also look at the investment industry and the sources of funds to our country. We always praise ourselves as the best tourism destination as a country. Unless we are proactive in ensuring that the Ministry of Tourism promotes tourism within and without, then we shall not go far! Look at the Port of Mombasa, as it has been mentioned! Look at the roads in Mombasa! When a tourist lands in Mombasa from London, imagine the kind of roads that they are using there! Immediately you 2864 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 21, 2008 land at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa and head to town, if you are not a Kenyan, you will just feel like flying back to your country! Unless we improve the infrastructure in our coastal towns, then we should not count on tourism in the near future. It is important for the Government to note that many countries have realised that through tourism, they are able to get a lot of income. Therefore, there is a lot of marketing by various countries. As such, very soon, tourists will have different destinations. Through planning, there is need to focus on improvement of our infrastructure. There is need to give incentives to investors in the hotel industry in this country. In order for us to realise the objectives contained in Vision 2030, having skilled labour is crucial. We, as a country, must see how much money we are putting into the development of the human person. The trend of our public universities taking over middle-level colleges should be checked. Otherwise, we shall be producing graduates who will not be able to do simple jobs that are done by middle-level college graduates. So, the planning Ministry should be able to check and intervene to ensure that our public universities expand on their own, because we need university graduates. We should also ensure that middle-level colleges increase, so that we get the expertise we, as a country, need. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the area of investment, we must check on both local and foreign investment. We, as a country, must be ashamed of the move we are taking in the area of privatisation. The other day, we were in Cuba. We were touched by the way that country has been able to take care of its education system. That country's children learn from nursery school to university-level through Government sponsorship. The Cuban Government supplies uniforms to all students. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we were interested in knowing how they get enough money to enable them take care of their children's education. They shared with us that all the investments within their country are government investments. We reflected back home, where we always say that we export a lot of tea, as a country. Who takes the profit from that tea? All of it is taken away because the majority of our tea estates are privately owned. While other countries are moving in the direction of the State investing more, we, as a country, are privatising. By extension, a lot of profits go out of this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) is crucial in realising the goals contained in Vision 2030. However, their current rates are a killer to the common mwananchi. Unless their rates are checked, our people will not have any extra coin to invest. That, coupled with the high prices of commodities, definitely, is a danger to investment in our country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, industrialisation is important. As a country, looking back at the many industries that have collapsed, there should be a proactive move to ensure that we revive these industries. We need to ensure that we add value to our commodities before they are sold, as well as a way of providing employment to the youth. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, creation of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the Women Enterprise Development Fund is a good move. Unfortunately, it is like money given out without any provision on how to make use of it. Most youth and women groups look at this money as free money. We must be proactive in ensuring that we state clearly what this money is meant for and train the groups. On the same note, a lot of this money is being wasted through the commercial banks. Commercial banks are making a lot of profits using this money, because they have very strict measures on how to access it. The Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) is a very good move. It is a wonderful move in this country. However, we, as a country, through the same Ministry, must look at the population and rate of poverty well. There are a lot of jitters here and there that these rates may not have been properly calculated. Unless these rates are properly calculated, we may not be able to say that we October 21, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2865 are doing fine. Very importantly, again, looking at the very many projects that have come up as a result of the CDF, it is clear that there is need to increase the CDF kitty as a way of devolving funds to the people. Equitable distribution of resources in this country is crucial. We can talk of Vision 2030. The destruction that was witnessed in January and February this year, took us back almost ten years in terms of development. What we had built was destroyed. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if we, as a country, do not check on how we distribute our resources, then we shall still have Kenyans who feel cheated, a small difference among them can cause a lot of destruction of what we have put in place. So, the Ministry should ensure that there is a proper way of ensuring that there is equitable distribution of national resources; as my colleagues have mentioned. That is distribution of resources from our rightful Ministry, which is supposed to be the Ministry that should guide the other Ministries at this stage. I would now like to talk about South Nyanza Development Project. How many South Nyanza Districts do we have in this country? Is it only one? If it is one, you would expect that corner of this country to celebrate. What would you expect from the other corners of this country? We have heard of Central Kenya dry areas. If there is any dry area in this country, the worst of its own kind is found in the Rift Valley Province. For example, Turkana District is a dry area. There is no single tree there. Which are the dry areas of this country that we are talking about? So, where do we start from and where do we end? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we must be seen to be fair to all parts of this country. Some very new districts like mine did not get anything for development. We have districts in very developed areas, which have already been given Kshs5 million for development. With those remarks, I beg to support and hope that the Minister has noted what I have said."
}