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"speaker_name": "Mr. Njuguna",
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"legal_name": "Peter Njuguna Gitau",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for this opportunity to say a few things on this very important Vote. I wish to thank the Minister for ably presenting his budget to the House. I also recognise the mandate of the Ministry in this aspect. I have made one observation concerning the allocation of resources. I wish to draw the attention of the Minister to the fact that the resources allocated to Kiambu West District are very much inadequate. Kshs942,890 is a small amount of money. Kiambu West District has a very big population, and the level of unemployment is also high. We cannot also underate the issue of unavailability of industries. The other observation is the unequitable distribution of resources in other areas. When we fail to allocate resources properly, this is likely to cause disharmony in the nation and instability. This is a crucial area that must be given adequate attention and a solution found. National resources must be shared well to avoid emotions by the people. Dissatisfaction is likely to interfere with the stability of this nation. Another area that I noted is about the construction of District Development Officers (DDOs) offices. Kiambu West District is a newly created one and there is no provision that has 2872 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 21, 2008 been made for it in this Vote. I wonder where the DDO will be located in order to plan and executive development projects in Kiambu West. This is an issue that I request the Minister to address well. Even money to acquire land where the offices are to be put up has not been provided. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding dry areas in Central Province, they have not been captured well. The planners of this Vote should have taken into consideration dry areas in Central Province, particularly Lari Constituency. We have Kitibia area, the escarpment Mbau-ini and Ndeiya in Limuru Constituency. These are very needy areas where we need to have water, sufficient food and other amenities. I do not know why the Ministry's planners ignored this part of the nation. Another area that has not been handled well is about the issue of development funds in industrialization. Since 1963, after Independence, Lari Constituency has not seen a sign of a factory, and it has continued to be marginalised. We have young people who are well intentioned and willing to work, but they have been denied the opportunity to do so. They have been denied that important development aspect. We have only one factory that \"died\" many years ago - Uplands Bacon Factory. I am happy that the Minister for Industrialization has taken the issue seriously. I would have expected the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 to think of doing something else for Lari Constituency. You know that Lari Constituency supplies about one-third of the food that is consumed in Nairobi. A food processing plant should have been thought about. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, we have not seen any plans in the Ministry's Vote to construct stadiums. No money has been set aside to promote youth activities. You know that the reputation of Kenya has been improved internationally by the youth. Regarding rehabilitation centres for the youth, nothing has been seen in the Vote Head. That is an issue that needs to be given due attention. There is also no planning for the Prison Service. You realise that our prisoners in this country are seriously congested. That is an issue that the Ministry should look into. On the transport industry, that responsibility has been given to the Rift Valley Railways. There are railway lines that have not been rehabilitated by the Rift Valley Railways. There should be proper planning in that area. Concerning the security of this nation, I would like to say that however well intentioned we are, whatever beautiful planning we do, without adequate security, we will not be able to implement some of those programmes. The issue of security on land and sea must be taken seriously. You can see what has happened. A ship that was carrying our goods was hijacked. We are now crying to our international partners to assist us. There is also no planning concerning the heroes of this nation. The Ministry has not planned anything for our heroes. We have people like Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Prof. Ali Mazrui and Argwings Kodhek. What plans do we have for those people? The Minister should come up with plans so that everybody in this land is happy. All our plans should be directed to enhancing joy and happiness in our land. Regarding the District Development Officers (DDOs), there are some who are incapable. They do not relate well with Members of Parliament. That is also the case with the CDF account managers. The people who have failed should not be transferred to other stations. The Minister should provide experienced and capable people who can interact well for the wellbeing of the constituency. Another area that I would like to give attention is the census issue. The Minister should come up with a better Board that will manage the census in this nation. We should not wait for a fiasco to happen. Those who will manage the census should be known well in advance. They October 21, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2873 should be people of integrity. They should be trained, vetted and allowed to carry out that national duty. That is because people are appointed without the necessary credentials. Such people will inflate or raise the figures for certain areas. That will cause instability in our nation. That should be a national exercise. I appeal to the Minister to pay a lot of attention to that. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}