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{
    "id": 192958,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/192958/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 212,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ms. S. Abdalla",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 380,
        "legal_name": "Shakila Abdalla",
        "slug": "shakila-abdalla"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to make a few remarks on this year's Budget. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister for Finance for his very mwananchi -friendly Budget. I would like to comment on one or two things. First, I will start with water and irrigation. There is an allocation of Kshs1 billion for the development of multi-purpose water dams. That money has also been reimbursed to the Mzima Springs which directs water from Sabaki to Mombasa City. It is very unfortunate that the people who are next to that river do not even have a drop of fresh water. I wonder why there is that imbalance. Water comes from the River Sabaki to Mombasa and yet, the people of Sabaki do not have fresh water. So, it is important that the Government looks into that issue. The other thing that I would like to comment about is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) kitty. I appreciate the comments by the Minister that the CDF is meant to enhance the development of this country. But it is unfortunate that some areas do not even have CDF offices and yet, there is Kshs1 million allocated for CDF offices. The Minister also mentioned that the Government was not able to achieve the goals of CDF projects because of governance-related challenges. I wonder what those challenges are! We did not achieve development in the regions due to lack of consultations. We did not consult the people in the grassroots on how to use that CDF money. It is very unfortunate that 70 per cent of the Members in the Tenth Parliament are new. Most of the former Members of Parliament were not elected due to the misuse of the CDF money. The CDF money was politicized and it only benefited a few cronies of the Members of Parliament. I can remember when we were attending the Safari Park workshop, it was mentioned by the Clerk that the Government was not able to tour all the constituencies because it did not have sufficient funds. I would suggest that whatever Budget is June 19, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1293 available should be distributed equally to all the constituencies. Even the CDF kitty for every constituency should contribute to that particular budget, so that we could make it possible for the National CDF Management Committee to tour all the constituencies and ensure that the Fund is managed well and properly utilized. Mr. Speaker, Sir, a sum of Kshs468 million has been allocated to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. I wonder how that money is going to be distributed. That is because there are some areas which do not even have polytechnics. I know about Lamu Polytechnic which is now a police post. So, I wonder what the Government is doing about it. There are no polytechnics at all in some constituencies and even districts. We appreciate the Kshs65 billion that has been allocated to roads. The Minister said that, that will also create opportunities for employment. But it is unfortunate that Lamu, being a tourist centre and recognized as the sixth heritage site in the world, does not have an allocation for the roads. For the last 45 years, Lamu has not had even one kilometre of tarmac. It is very unfortunate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there were plans for a second Port in Lamu. I wonder what happened to that! That is because the Mkanda Trench was degraded, although it was poorly done. Instead of doing any good, it is now causing many accidents. Again, I wonder what the Government is doing about it, because it is an accident hazard now. So, I hope the degrading of the Mombasa Port to create a free port in Mombasa will be done in a professional manner so as not to be the same as what was done in Lamu. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to support."
}