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"speaker_name": "Mr. K. Kilonzo",
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"legal_name": "Julius Kiema Kilonzo",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to comment on the financial statement on the Annual Estimates. 1334 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 24, 2008 Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to commend the Minister for coming up with some measures to ease the burden on the common man despite the difficult times we are in. On the material Budget day, I was in the forefront advocating for the adoption of mwananchi's Budget. In this country, we have been privileged to have the M-PESA revolution. It is a revolution because other parts of the world are now copying the M-PESA, which is a technology that enables you to easily transfer money to whatever people and distance in this country without much ado. Therefore, I need to commend the Minister for having taken that into account and for reducing duty paid on telephone equipment. But I wish the Minister would have gone a step further. Other than just to reduce the duty on telephone equipment, he should have taken into account the high cost of making telephone calls in this country. He should have reduced the cost of airtime to make calls cheaper. Indeed, wananchi all over the country use telephones but airtime is exorbitant. Therefore, sometimes, it becomes very difficult for wananchi to reach their partners where they want to talk to. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of youth, I need to commend the Government yet again for having allocated about Kshs500 million to boost the Youth Enterprise Development Fund. In the previous Budget, the Government allocated Kshs1 billion to the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, but the impact on the ground had been very minimal. Why? Because of the nature of administering this Fund. Every constituency got Kshs1 million. This was not enough to bring any meaningful change to our young people on the ground. I recommend to the Minister that, in order for the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the Women Enterprise Development Fund to have an impact on the ground, the Youth Fund should be devolved to the constituency level to ensure that there is equitable distribution to our youth on the ground. Now turning to the issue of the Rural Electrification Programme, I want to commend the Government. This Government, for the last five years until today, this being the sixth year of President Kibaki's leadership--- We have seen rural electrification being distributed to areas which hitherto were not in the picture. Nobody ever thought that some of the rural areas in the constituencies would be able to benefit from Rural Electrification Programme. This is because the connection fee of electricity is so exorbitant and beyond the reach of common mwananchi . However, while we commend the Government for that, and the money it has put aside towards the Rural Electrification Programme, I would like to say that the cost of connecting electricity to the common man is still beyond reach. This affects the way the use of electricity would spur development. I request the Government to reduce taxes on electricity so that the rural folk can get electricity and generate income from its use. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I listened very carefully to the Minister when he talked about deduction in prices of foodstuffs like wheat and rice. Very few people in this country have the privilege of eating rice, cakes and bread. Majority of Kenyan people use maize flour and other commodities which were not taken into account. I would like to say that Kenyans must be very careful because if there is a battle we are going to face in the future, then it will be a class battle between the \"haves\" and the \"have-nots.\" Today, the amount an employer earns as opposed to the amount he pays his servants is not comparable. When they go to the supermarket, they buy flour and sugar at the same price. If you look at the disparity between their salaries, you will see that it is beyond imaginable proportions. It is the duty of the Government to cushion wananchi . I would like to ask the Minister to borrow a leaf from other countries which have taken measures to cushion their populace. For instance, in India, the Government ensures that it gives vouchers just as it taxes wananchi in a certain salaried bracket, so that if an hon. Member goes to buy unga and his servant has to buy the same unga at the same price, the servant is given a voucher from the Government. When the voucher is given to the shopkeeper, then the mwananchi gets a rebate or the flour price is reduced. This is the only way which is going to help the common June 24, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1335"
}