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{
    "id": 192947,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/192947/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 201,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Munyaka",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 86,
        "legal_name": "Victor Kioko Munyaka",
        "slug": "victor-munyaka"
    },
    "content": "We would easily avail the funds to all the youths in our constituencies. Turning to the energy sector, it is good that the Minister increased the allocation for the Rural Electrification Programme. I wish to state that even with that effort, majority of Kenyans cannot still afford to install power in their homes. Even with the quotation of Kshs32,480 which is to be paid by people who are staying not more than 600 metres away from a power point, as the lowest average quotation available, it is still an amount that most Kenyans cannot afford. I suggest that since the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) is in business, it should engage in investments which it can earn money from as people consume its power. I suggest that the KPLC lowers the cost of installing electricity in homes. That is an investment that the company stands to reap from in future. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the CDF has proved to be a very good avenue where the public and the citizens of Kenya have really gained a lot, across the whole nation. Despite other funds from the Government getting lost on the way, the CDF has managed to assist in alleviating poverty in many ways across the country. In that same light, I suggest that the Government increases the allocation from 2.5 per cent of our revenue so that development can be achieved at the grassroots level. On the issue of food security, we know that there is looming danger of famine in the country. When we consider the rain seasons in Kenya and in many parts of the world, you will notice that there are times when we have bumper harvests and times when crops die in the farms. It is a bad situation here in Kenya because the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has around 100 depots around the country. However, there are only about 50 of them that are operational. The NCPB total capacity of storage is about 20 million bags if it were to become fully operational. I agree with the Minister that the Strategic Grain Reserves (SGR) should be increased from six million to eight million bags. However, when there is a bumper harvest, the stores should be opened so that all the maize that is harvested goes into the stores of the NCPB. This would help us to avoid exploitation by middlemen and millers who export it causing starvation in the country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, still on food security, I am rather disappointed to learn that the Government has continuously forgotten the livestock sector. The Sessional Paper No.1 of 1986 stopped the employment of veterinary officers and para-veterinary officers. Due to that, very many animals have died. Our animals are suffering from many diseases. Some of the diseases have also crossed from animals to human beings. It is only when human beings become sick that the Government responds. The problem in this sector is lack of staff. I did not hear the Minister talk June 19, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1289 about employment of new staff in the livestock sector. If you look at North Eastern Province and other ASAL, areas which are purely livestock producing areas. The Ministry of Agriculture gets allocated 90 per cent of the total Budget allocation compared with the livestock sector which gets only 10 per cent of that allocation. This is despite the fact that livestock production caters for 95 per cent of the economic activities in those areas, while agriculture is merely 1 per cent. We fail to understand the logic behind this. If the sector is ignored, my biggest fear is that the livestock will continue dying and finally, a disease outbreak might eventually clear the livestock as well as the human beings because of the zoonotic nature of some of the diseases associated with livestock. Mr. Speaker, Sir, water is life. I am glad to note that the Minister increased this Budget's allocation to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. I wish to convey my constituents' chronic water shortage problems in Machakos Town. I hope that the Minister for Finance will support the Minister for Water and Irrigation so as to alleviate the problem of water in Machakos Town. Machakos Town, being a very old town of 100 years or more, runs continuously for two months without water. I, therefore, urge the Minister to allocate some funds to cater for this problem. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}