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"id": 187317,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Ngugi",
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"speaker": {
"id": 112,
"legal_name": "David Mwaniki Ngugi",
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"content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to second this very important Motion. It is a Motion that addresses matters of security in this country, the Judiciary and the poor in our society that do all the work. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, without the village elders, there is a big disconnect between the Government and the general population. If you look at the population today - about 35 million Kenyans - and the one that was there in 1963 when we attained our Independence, it has grown so many times. The chiefs are not able to keep track of what the general citizens are doing. It is those elders that connect the Government and the general population and yet, because they are not recognized, rewarded and taken care of, they do not feel it is their duty to tell the Government what is happening in every location and village. That is why this Motion is so critical and important. It will recognise those people who connect the Government with the general population. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is a lot of backlog of cases in our courts today. That is because every small dispute and disagreement ends up in court. If we were able to recognise those village elders, remunerate them and even give them some structure and terms of service, the backlog in our courts would reduce. So, we are asking hon. Members to pass this Motion so that we can put those members of our society, who play such an important role, into the mainstream of our Provincial Administration. Those elders are the keepers of our valuable traditions. The society has broken down because we have abandoned our good traditions. We no longer respect our elders. Children do not respect their parents. Parents do not respect their grand parents. Generally, we do not respect our elders, especially those who are organized and help the system. We have a duty to recognize them. Being the keepers of our valuable traditions and being the people who settle disputes - be they marriage, land or whatever--- They are the ones who live with the people. If we do not recognize them, then we will be failing in addressing the problems that are affecting our society. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we are all seated here as Members of Parliament, earning what people out there call \"fat\" salaries, although I do not think so. But all we are asking is that we have a duty. If we require service from anybody, we pay for it. In this country, if we were to do an analysis, we pay colossal amounts of money to consultants; people who are educated and they provide their services as consultants and yet, we do not pay anything to those village elders who are the first-line consultants of the Government and society. That is why we want this Motion to address that inequity where the poor are treated as being there to be used and to provide services for free. But those of us who happen to be educated and are lucky to get into this Parliament--- We used the same elders even to propel us into this Parliament and yet, we do not recognize them. July 30, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2209 Instead, we just say that their services are there for free. That is why it is so important to do unto others what we would like them to do unto us. If we want to be paid and we are paid - and we even want a pay rise - why can we not be human enough and recognize those elders who are the foundation of our cohesive society? Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Government tried community policing. I do not think there has been much success with community policing. That is because community policing was forced upon the people. It did not emanate from them. Whereas the policemen and chiefs are paid, nobody pays for the services of those who are supposed to do community policing. They cluster themselves into ten households and then report to the chief what is happening in that area. We should have a structured way that emanates from the people themselves that will help this country to address the problems affecting the people and the Government, including the issue of security. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is only human that we look into these elders' issues and inculcate them within the Government administrative machinery. As the Motion read, they are not recognised in law yet they have been there for ages. Why do we not legalise their existence? Why do we not legalise their services? Why do we not put them in the Government administrative structure? If we do that, then we look for a budget. When---"
}