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"id": 197007,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/197007/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Musyoka",
"speaker_title": "The Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 188,
"legal_name": "Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. At the outset, I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the colleagues who, in record numbers, have participated in this debate, allowing it to run the full course of Seven Days. You can even see that many more hon. Members, including the Member for Eldoret South, who was cut short, were willing to speak. Therefore, I want to acknowledge the very high quality of debate. I know that the Tenth Parliament will live up to our people's expectations. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, all manner of issues were touched upon. Of course, everybody, without exception, has come out in support of the Presidential Address. I have not heard one hon. Member saying that he or she is opposed to the remarks that His Excellency the President made from the Speaker's Chair, addressing the pertinent issues facing our country. Therefore, I continue to say: \"Thank you God for saving this country.\" It was the closest we came to disaster since Independence. I recall, when I went to see the President of Rwanda - I think I touched on this during my remarks - His Excellency President Kagame said: \"We are not so much touched by what has gone on in Kenya because you happen to be our economic lifeline, but because of the events following the election. The post election violence reminded us, as Rwandese, of the terrible events we went through in 1994.\" 392 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 25, 2008 I would like to ask that for those hon. Members of the Tenth Parliament who may not have had occasion to travel in that region, now that occasion is providing itself, they travel to Kigali and see how close we came to disaster. They have a museum there, clearly showing close to a million Rwandese who died in the 1994 genocide, while the whole world watched. I know that we are all concerned about justice for our people and ourselves. We are all concerned about lifting the standards and quality of lives of our people. Therefore, as we all begin to talk about Vision 2030, we have to begin, as leaders, by having a clear vision. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the vision we have is what His Excellency the President elaborated. For instance, the need to have a commission to deal with negative ethnicity in our country cannot be gainsaid. The President came out so forcefully on that issue. I remember that is what the international media captured. They said that this is the one country that wants to stop this thing, stop it, nip it, literally, in the bud. I have just come from addressing a conference of head teachers. I am happy that the Member for Eldoret South is pleading the cause of teachers. This was a conference for provincial head teachers, which is one major conference since the year began, because everything came to a standstill following the December, 27 elections. Now, teachers are even beginning to organise themselves. More than 1,000 head teachers gathered in Machakos today. Their theme was national unity, because they realised that the post election violence affected everybody in the country, including people in parts of the country where there was relative calm, like Eastern Province; because of the fact that we are all inter-related by birth or marriage. Whatever relationship one may have with other people, one cannot begin to hurt in Wajir and think that somebody in Isebania is not feeling the effect. We are one country which has grown to be so close. That is why the disaster that befell us was so devastating. The head teachers, like all of us, are saying there is need for national unity. Therefore, closely following in the theme by His Excellency the President in his Address from the Chair. Therefore, it behooves us to begin reflecting solidly on those core national values that are important, which have brought us this far. This far we have come. This far, we have also learnt plenty. Everybody needs everybody else. This is one country with 43 communities and no community can claim to exist on its own. Tanzanians were fortunate under Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. They embraced Kiswahili as a national language. They all speak Kiswahili and yet, there are more communities in that sisterly country than we have in our country. They are all closely knit together. Therefore, after President Kikwete won the elections, some Kenyans were heard to ask: \"What tribe is President Kikwete?\" Tanzanians laughed at us because we are always thinking tribal. Even the way we came into this House is testimony to that fact: We allowed ourselves to think tribal. Even the men of the collar - the church and the religious community - perhaps only with the exception of the Moslems and Catholics who stood together, people were divided along ethnic lines. That is a shame for all of us! This is why the President was so clear that there is a need to come up with a legislation governing ethnic relations in this country. For once, we shall be able to say with one accord that, never again shall a Kenyan take a machete and rise against another Kenyan. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is why we continue to feel sympathy for our people who are still living as internally displaced Kenyans; refugees in their own country. I want to plead with all of us, as Mr. Kiunjuri observed from this place, that there is absolutely nothing for us to celebrate when so many of our people are still--- Even now the rains have come in. They are living under flooded tents. There is a real possibility of infectious diseases catching up with them. I have just seen a report by the Minister of State for Special Programmes, who is now walking into the Chamber. In trying to answer the Question by the Member for Laikipia East, she said that, at least, they are doing something to make sure that IDPs do not perish. We have to do whatever it takes to give comfort to those people. Even as we now prepare to ask ourselves the hard questions through the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission--- The hard questions like: Why did you kill my March 25, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 393 brother? Why did you rape my sister? Those are the hard questions that Kenyans will have to face in order to bring true national healing and reconciliation. I understand that the issue of land is key. Our forefathers fought and shed blood in order to make this country free. The core issue then was land. Did we not learn in primary schools the concept of the former white highlands which the whites came and said: \"This is our country!\" Now, as we think of the matter of addressing those historical injustices through the review of the Constitution--- I liked it very much when His Excellency the President said that even Mr. Orengo, the Member for Ugenya, could actually write the Constitution! That is because we all know the issues. We all know the sticking issues! The balance out of the Bomas of Kenya process is very clear in our minds. The issues of the executive authority which are now being addressed and the real change that has come to this country which we all know and acknowledge as irreversible--- Change is here with us and that is one thing that we were able to address out of Bomas. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the matter of devolution is, perhaps, one of the sticking issues that we need to address and give our country a new Constitution, the type that will be able to stand the test of time. As I said, there comes a time when, indeed, there has to be a constitutional moment. I want to suggest that the constitutional moment for Kenya is here with us. If Shakespeare had lived in the 21st Century, he would have, probably, said the following:- \"That there is a tide in the affairs of countries; taken at the tide, it leads on to fortune; abandoned, the rest of the life is lived in shallows and misery.\" There is a tide in the affairs of this land! We have to capture this tide. We have a high tide and we dare not let our people down. This high tide will definitely lead on to fortune. It will lead onto success in the fight against poverty to which all of us are committed and to which, His Excellency the President was able to come out so solidly. This morning, the head teachers from Eastern Province said, in applauding the success of the free secondary education - call it affordable secondary education - felt that those day schools - because at the level of day schools, it is completely free--- But where they do not reach a registration mark of 40 students, they do not seem to be getting support from the Ministry of Education. I indicated to the head teachers that I will bring that matter expeditiously to the attention of the Minister for Education, Prof. Ongeri. I am happy that he is already very much with it. But even as we applaud the concept of free secondary education, the success of free primary education is clear to all of us. The journey is still on. I want to reply very briefly on the matter of fertilizers because, again, I remember the hon. Members for Bureti and Eldoret South speaking about it. I had an occasion to try and reply on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture. When I came in, in fact, all the facts had not come to the fore. The facts are as follows: The fertilizer used in Kenya is imported from many parts of the world and, therefore, the prices are determined by the prevailing world market. During the last three months, international POB prices for the popular planting fertilizer which we call DAP rose from US$695 to US$987. That is attributable to the increase in demand for the fertilizer in USA and Brazil for planting maize on 9 million acres of new land for the production of biofuel. Hon. Members have realised that Virgin Atlantic was able to fly a biofuel propelled aircraft last month. Therefore, the matter of biofuel is becoming absolutely interesting worldwide. The other reason is increased demand for fertilizers by farmers in Europe for wheat production due to the high world prices being experienced for that commodity worldwide, as well as increased fertilizer production costs attributed to high prices of crude oil. I think hon. Members will have realised that the price of crude oil has risen from US$70 per barrel to US$109. All that has a knock-on effect even on the prices of fertilizer. Obviously, the recent political turmoil increased the risk of loss or damage for goods on transit. It had a great impact on the transportation of goods from our Port of Mombasa up-country. However, that matter was sorted and I, personally, do not see why the middle men, whom I referred 394 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 25, 2008 to, should have been allowed to take advantage of the situation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, during the same period, the demand for shipping capacity by China - that is because China is emerging as a real world power for construction material - can you believe it - increased and has hence resulted in the rise of freight rates from US$70 per metric tonne to US$140. The resultant effect is a sharp price in the domestic fertilizer market. The prices have risen from Kshs1,850 to nearly, as hon. Members have said, Kshs4,000. Everything possible will be done to make sure that our people receive fertilizer in the next few days. In fact, specifically, there will be distribution of fertilizer to the most vulnerable members of the farming community. I want to appreciate that it has been tremendous listening to all hon. Members. I want to take this opportunity, at a personal level, to thank the people that I have represented for over two decades--- This is going to the 23rd year! The people of Mwingi North have, every time, re-elected me with an increased majority. I do not have words to thank them. I think it would be remise for me and, as I reply to debate and listening to all of us--- Everybody here was full of praise for his or her constituents. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want the people of Mwingi North to know that I love them. I will rededicate myself to serving them. The challenges that are before us are very clear in terms of infrastructure and the fight against poverty. My friend, hon. Maj-Gen. Nkaisserry, knows that the problems in Kajiado Central are pretty close to the ones in Mwingi North. Again, at another personal level, I did not hear any hon. Member commend me because I stood out there, and I was hoping that I would pass in the middle of President Kibaki and my friend, hon. Raila."
}