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{
    "id": 197049,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/197049/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 256,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Foreign Affairs",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thought I referred to my good old friend with the greatest dignity that he deserves! I want to see a situation where we are all seen together in the countryside. We should not just appear in the newspapers preaching and saying that we need peace, unity and cohesion. We should go out there, meet wananchi and show them that we are truly embracing the spirit of healing and unity. I would like to tell the good old Maj-Gen. Nkaisserry that I am ready to visit his constituency next week, so that we tell the people of Kajiado Central Constituency that they and the people of Sirisia Constituency are one and the same; they are all Kenyans. We should do that 402 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 25, 2008 all over the country. I just want to mention one point even as we talk about the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. This is the issue of land. This Parliament, more than any other Parliament in this country, has a unique opportunity. Sitting here and listening to my colleagues, I must pay tribute to the fact that we have, perhaps, one of the best calibres of Members of Parliament that we have ever had in any Parliament in this country. One of the good and living legacies that this Parliament can give to this country is a major land reform. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this country must move away from the belief that, to be somebody in society, you must own land and carry a title deed. With the growing population, and with only 21 per cent of our country being arable and suitable for human habitation, we must tell Kenyans that we can be proud of ourselves even without land ownership. The flare-up we have seen in Rift Valley Province, Trans Nzoia, Mt. Elgon, Laikipia, Marsabit and everywhere else, is all about land. How do we dissuade Kenyans that you can live a decent life or you can be a great and successful Kenyan without carrying a title deed in your briefcase? This is where the problem lies! I think those of us who come from areas that are endowed with rain and arable land, must tell our people that the future of this country does not lie in segmenting and cutting land into small pieces of half an acre or one-quarter of an acre until it is unproductive, rather we must go out there and embrace change. We need to encourage Kenyans to go and live in urban centres so that we can leave land for food production. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have seen the resilience of Kenya. During the upheaval, the Kenya Shilling dropped to Kshs74 to the US Dollar. In the last two weeks, the Kenya Shilling has strengthened to just about Kshs61 or Ksh62 against the US Dollar. This is how resilient our country is. If we can all work together, I am sure that in another one month, we should pull down the shilling to Kshs50 to the US Dollar to enable the economy grow even faster. Let us walk the talk. Let us preach and say what we believe in. Let us unite Kenyans. Let us go out there and walk together and talk together."
}