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{
    "id": 185562,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/185562/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 156,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Foreign Affairs",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": " Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to second the Motion. It is routine that we do always adjourn so that we can give hon. Members time to go and be with their constituents and attend to the constituents issues particularly matters pertaining CDF and project management. More importantly, this is also an opportunity for the House Committees; watchdog and other Committees of the House to have ample time to carry out their work of oversight, scrutiny of Government expenditure so that by the time we reopen, they would have done quite a bit of work. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, more importantly, in my view, this country is still in need of a state of healing. I would want to see a situation where all of us here can move together not necessarily as a whole House; but we would wish to see hon. Members from the Mt. Kenya region visiting the Rift Valley Province and vice versa, hon. Members from Nyanza Province visiting Mt. Kenya, hon. Members from Western Province visiting Coast Province so that we can be able to show the country that, as a nerve centre of leadership in this country, we are leading from the front in telling Kenyans that we are one. We must move together. We must avoid ethnic prejudices that have plunged this country into problems so that we can be able to bring our country together. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, equally important is to give an opportunity to Ministers particularly those that are in the service and infrastructure Ministries to be able to go around the country, see for ourselves and feel the problems that people have. You realise that we are asked Questions here about road, security, co-operatives and agriculture. I would want to see a situation where the Minister for Roads will take time to go around the country with colleagues to see the pressures that drive hon. Members to ask Questions here. I would like to see the Minister for Agriculture visiting coffee growing areas to know the problems of coffee growers, sugar growing areas to know the problems of sugar growers. This will also be very helpful. I want to end by urging the Minister responsible for higher education and universities to look into the management of the Higher Education Loans Board. The centralisation of this organisation in Nairobi does not help this country at all. I would want to see a situation where the HELB opens branches, at least, in either every province or where we have a vast province like the Rift Valley, in about three or four other towns of the province so that students and parents who want to access these loans have an easier time to access the management of the loans so that they can be facilitated. You can imagine a student from Mandera or Busia travelling all the way to Nairobi and they are not even given the loans. I would want to urge that we move into decentralisation of this organisation so that it can give people quality and better services. Let me end by urging hon. Members that this is, indeed, a bi-partisan Motion that should be supported by all of us so that we can go and do alternative work other than being on this Floor day August 7, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2447 in, day out. With those few remarks, I beg to second."
}