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"id": 193878,
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"speaker_name": "Dr. Nuh",
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"legal_name": "Nuh Nassir Abdi",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to second. First, I want to ask my sisters, the ladies, that they should not tear into us because of having the Mover and the Seconder of the Motion from the same gender. That could be another contentious issue. I want to assure them that 1112 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 10, 2008 in the selection of the Committee that went to the conference, the Speaker was so fair in his selection regarding gender. We were represented equally, that is we were six to six persons from both sides of gender. Even the Speaker was accompanied by the other legal half. The only thing we could look at is body size and age. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the conference enlightened us, as Members of the Kenyan delegation, on what roles Parliamentarians can play to bring this world into one unit that is harmonious, and one unit which can really work together and is aware of every other country. Problems that are within a country have some major global implications on other countries and neighbours. That was a forum where Parliamentarians exchanged and compared notes, and, maybe, revised what their countries were doing in the fields of development and pushing the frontiers of poverty further. One thing that I noted was the phobia that some of the major countries, or the big players in the world, had about institutions that can make some countries act like big brothers and disregard the law totally. I noted that some countries that are called the superpowers are not among 146 members of the International Parliamentary Union (IPU). That raises some concerns. That shows that if institutions were strengthened, the commitment of various member countries regarding human issues, security issues, poverty and development issues from the level of Parliamentarians, or the level of individual parliaments will be enhanced. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I heard an hon. Member raise an issue on Persons with Disability Act, 2003. One thing really impressed me. In almost three to four buildings I visited, when I went to the lift, it clearly showed that a lift was for people with disabilities. Do we really have such kindness and concerns for people with disabilities, who are treated in the society like outcasts? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Kenyan Government then was not wholly constituted, and all the problems of post-election violence were not settled. The first day we were ashamed even to mention that we were from Kenya, although we knew that things back in our country were being sorted out. We received bashing from other countries on numerous occasions. When it came to reconciliation, we were compared with South Africa. Everybody knew that Kenya needed some healing. So, we were mentioned alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe and South Africa. People said that Kenya would benefit from the lessons of South Africa and know that the best way to live in a nation was through reconciliation and regarding one another as brothers. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was in a committee that was deliberating on the role of Parliamentarians in striking a balance between national security, human security and individual freedoms in averting threats to democracy. I would want to bring to the attention of hon. Members the fact that this is a critical issue. It is a very critical issue that in fighting terrorism and trying to promote security, we should not endanger the individual freedoms of the citizens of this country. That came out in that international conference. There is so much phobia and fear of terrorism. There are some people who might disregard rights, and when enforcing the law, go overboard and infringe individual freedoms and rights of citizens who are otherwise law abiding. Issues of maternal and neo-natal healthcare were also discussed in the conference. It was astonishing that the Sub-Saharan Africa was said to have contributed 49 per cent of the world mortality rate, while it had contributed only 22 per cent to the birth rate. I was unable to understand the figures because if we were contributing 49 per cent to the deaths and only 22 to the birth rate, our population should not have grown. It should have gown down. That is food for thought for the people who are better placed to explain statistics. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding maternal and post-natal health, some countries were rated as having improved. Those countries included Ethiopia, Eritrea, Malawi and Mozambique. Some countries were rated as having increased in neo-natal mortality. I was so concerned that we were not mentioned among countries that were improving. When I came back, there was the zeal June 10, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1113 by the Ministry of Medical Services to distribute insecticide-treated nets all over the country. That was one of the aspects that was said would reduce the neo-natal mortalities. I was impressed and thought that in the next IPU conference, Kenya should feature as one of the countries that will have improved in tackling maternal and neo-natal health. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the delegation also met a former director of the Research Institute of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission to get an insight on how the South Africans coped with Apartheid and how they were able to settle down at the end. Some of the Commission members came up with write-ups on how the Commission performed. There has been debate in this country in the last two or three weeks about whether there should be amnesty, or whether youths should be prosecuted or continue to be held in jail. I would like to urge the hon. Members to look for a copy of a document that explains how the South Africans overcame the race issue, and were able to deal with the issue through the Justice, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and may be the debate will all of a sudden come to an end. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}