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"id": 195490,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/195490/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Ojaamong",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Labour",
"speaker": {
"id": 196,
"legal_name": "Sospeter Odeke Ojaamongson",
"slug": "sospeter-ojaamongson"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to these Supplementary Estimates by the Minister. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I, also, wish to support this Motion moved by the Minister for Finance. First of all, Government services in various parts of the country had come to a halt. I was in my constituency over the weekend and for part of last week; almost every head of department was complaining that they id not have Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) and money. Police officers had no money to buy petrol, so that they could use their vehicles for patrols. As a result, they were going round soliciting for bribes from people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a very good effort by the Minister for Finance. I think we are going to salvage the image of even police officers and other Government officials, who were stranded and were begging for money all over. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, that aside, there is the issue of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Whereas we are so concerned about their plight and try to encourage them to go back to their homes, I would like the Government--- The issue here is a security. Provide these people with security and they will go back home, unless we are just using them for ulterior motives. The IDPs who were evicted in Meru, and 802 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 30, 2008 elsewhere, were given buses and went back to their homes. I do not think they are bothering other people. I think there is a class of non-genuine IDPs, who are masquerading and pretending that they do not have their homes. Please, move very fast so that we can identify these people. Let us know the genuine ones who do not know their homes, so that we can settle them elsewhere. However, those who know their homes should go back to their homes. There is a lot of anticipation from the IDPs. They think billions and billions of shillings will be given to them. It is better if a census of all the IDPs and whatever property they have lost is taken; let us move them to other safe places then the Government can compensate them later. The issue of sticking in camps and making Kenya look as if it is a very horrible State--- I think the Government should move fast and try to salvage this situation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are giving the Minister for Finance this money. I know he will get it, but we also want services delivered. For the last five years, as a Member of Parliament, I cannot recall any major project that was undertaken in my constituency by the Government. We want this money to go down to the grassroots. When you go to the Ministry of Health--- Indeed, I took my time to find out whether medicine goes to my constituency. I went to KEMSA in the Industrial Area. I must thank the staff there. They gave me the whole list of drugs that were taken to my constituency. However, outside my constituency, there are no drugs. I surveyed the hospitals and there were no drugs. People are buying drugs. It would be good if the Minister followed up and verified if Ministries spend funds for the purposes we vote them for. It is unfortunate that we have an outcry across the country. Whereas the Government is proud that we are taking money down to the grassroots for the benefit of our people, they are not getting services at all. Let me hope that this time round, we will give value for the money we are going to vote to Ministries. I would appeal to the Minister that, instead of officers in various Ministries dilly-dallying, he should ensure that they utilise this money in time. The President came up with performance contracts. However, this thing has lost meaning. We do not know what they are for. As a Member of Parliament, you do not know which performance contracts are in place. You will find some roads are impassable and hospitals do not have drugs. There is no industry being built anywhere. Now, which performance contract is this? Everything is at a standstill! When we tell our people that officers have signed performance contracts, we should tell them what they are for. If, after every three months, a road is constructed, the common mwananchi will have faith in this Government. However, even with this Grand Coalition Government, if we just continue the way we have been doing things, we will have even more violence than we have witnessed. The common man is not happy with the lack of services down there. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we also have the issue of free secondary education, which has been articulated by the Minister of State for Provincial Administration and National Security. For almost the whole of first term, students in secondary schools were sent back home to look for school fees. This was because schools did not believe that the Government would send them money. Let me hope that the concerned Ministry will go down and tell the headteachers and principals of various secondary schools that the Government is dedicated to implementing free secondary education, and that the money for it is on the way. Why should we be sending money when most of these children have dropped out of secondary schools? My major appeal to the Minister for Finance is that he should - now that we have a Prime Minister in place and they are in the same building - try to supervise these Ministries so that the public can have faith in the President, Prime Minister and in this Government. Let him not go on mourning as if we do not have a Government in place. With those few remarks, I beg to support. April 30, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 803"
}