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"id": 187326,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/187326/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Ms. Mbarire",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Tourism",
"speaker": {
"id": 78,
"legal_name": "Cecily Mutitu Mbarire",
"slug": "cecily-mbarire"
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"content": " Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me a chance to contribute to this important Motion. I want to begin by congratulating the Mover of this Motion for deeming it fit to bring this particular issue whose time has come and which I think should have been sorted out many years ago. I think nobody can dispute the fact that the role of headmen, elders, or whatever other name they are called in various places, is very important in making sure that the Government is closer to the people. They also make sure that the Government gets information on a day to day basis, so that it gets the right information from the grassroots and understands what is happening at any one time. These are men and women of integrity, who have a lot of support from the village. They are people who are always recognised by the people in the village, so that any time there is an issue, they are the first to get that information. If we talk about anything to do with development, they are always there; anything to do with funerals, they are always there; anytime a child is born in the village, they are always there. Therefore, they are very important, especially for making sure that the Government gets statistics of the number of people being buried or born everyday. We may not even need to pay for consulting services to do the national census, if we truly recognize the role of these people. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to focus on the need to build the capacity of these people, so that they do much more than they are already doing. These people deal with marriage and family disputes on property issues, especially land issues. Therefore, they are people who need to know more about the laws of Kenya. There is need to build their capacity as far as the laws of Kenya are concerned. In particular, I am thinking that they should be trained as paralegal officers, so that any time there is a matter that requires interpretation of the law, they are able to advise the people accordingly. I also think that these are the same people who impart knowledge on the various Government policies that we come up with, and are able to sensitize Kenyans about what has come up and what the Government is doing. They can tell wananchi about Vision 2030. They are also able to talk to young people about the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YDEF) and to the women groups about the Women Enterprise Development Fund (WEDF), where to go and where to get information from. Therefore, we need to think, not just about recognizing them in law or paying them, but also about how we can make them more useful to the Government in terms of information dissemination on what the Government is doing and what people need to know. If you look at these same people, they are very useful for grassroots mobilization. If you look at some of the projects or programmes the Government comes up with, these people are the first to mobilize people around a particular project or issue. It is, therefore, important that we also build their capacity and give them proper mobilization skills, so that they are able to do so. Some of these people do not have mobile phones; so, they are not able to keep up to date with information as it comes. They are not able to reach the Assistant Chief immediately when there is an issue; sometimes they cannot even afford to buy air time. So, we need to give them proper mobilization skills and build their capacity to do just that. We are now talking about our environment that is greatly endangered. These people will July 30, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2213 ensure that tree planting events within the country take place, and tell us how many trees were planted in a particular village. They will also ensure that they are taken care of, so that they grow because it is one thing to plant a tree and another to ensure that it grows. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we have development projects where we need people to come on board to ensure that they take place. These are the people who will do it. We are in the era of HIV/AIDS. These are the same people who would help to impart knowledge on HIV/AIDS, ensure that the Government is aware of who is sick and where, whether they are receiving ARVs, as should be the case and the number of HIV/AIDS orphans that we are dealing with, so that we have up to date statistics. I am sure that if these people become useful, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) will not need to pay so much to people to carry out a particular research. They will be getting timely information on what is going on. I also want to say that as we think about empowering these people and recognizing within the mainstream Government, we need to start thinking of how to ensure that they also reflect a representation of the society in terms of gender. In my constituency, we have some women who are playing this role in some of the villages, but they are very few. We would like to ensure that, as we come up with these people and integrate them within the Government, there are women village elders, because an elder is determined by age and experience. We have women who are old enough, who are experienced and can offer the services that these people are giving. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}