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"speaker_name": "Mr. Kioni",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Ndaragwa",
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"legal_name": "Jeremiah Ngayu Kioni",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. My names are Ngayu Kioni, the new Member for Ndaragwa Constituency. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to support the Motion for the Adjournment but, before I do that, I want to thank the residents of Ndaragwa for giving me a chance to serve them for the next five years. I want to join other colleagues in this House who have said many things, one of which is that we are happy to go and explain to our constituents what the Peace Accord is all about. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as we do that, it is important to understand that the Peace Accord will not have a proper meaning if we still continue having Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps. We should urge the Government to move quickly and settle the IDPs in their proper places. We should enact legislation in this House that quickly addresses the issues that we March 25, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 409 have been talking about; a legislation that can bring to book those people who were responsible for the violence. We know the perpetrators. Some of them may be in this House. Peace will not take root if the people who were behind the violence will not be brought to book. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is important to ensure that, as the Government constitutes the Cabinet, people who have been mentioned in one way or the other in connection with that violence do not find themselves in that Cabinet. If we allow that to happen, Kenyans will have little confidence in the Government. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is also important that I take this opportunity to thank a group that has not been recognized by any of the persons who have spoken before. We have heard about the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). This country is what it is because KRA staff have maintained their position. They ensured that the collection of taxes continued and, in so doing, we avoided being colonized again by being made to beg for money from those people who actually wanted us to start begging again. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the next two weeks is an opportunity for us to go out and issue responsible statements. If we do not issue responsible statements--- Violence is caused by leaders who become reckless in statements that they issue in public places. If we do not issue responsible statements, then we could get ourselves back to the situations that we do not desire. There are some statements which were made over the weekend in some places in Ukambani, where a community was being told not to sell sand to Kikuyus. Such irresponsible statements will not help us to heal. They will just continue aggravating the situation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I also call upon hon. Members to cultivate a culture of rewarding hard work during the two-week break. This country needs to reward hard work, as opposed to a situation where somebody sees me in a good suit and runs around thinking that it is his or her's. If I am wearing it because I have worked hard, he should reward me for having worked hard. He should not think that I took it from somewhere and someone should take it. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as we also take the two-week break and, as we continue thinking about the new Government, we will lose the point if we do not recognize that many Members of Parliament here are fairly youthful. If the Cabinet is not reflective of that fact, again, we will be having difficulties in allowing the people to move on with the changes that they make. We have institutions in this country and, even as we have the National Peace and Reconciliation Accord, you can still see elements of tribalism. In some of the educational institutions and service commissions, you can see clear cases of tribalism due to the number of persons in those areas. We talk of equitable distribution of resources, and I come from a constituency that is marginalised. Ndaragwa is a marginalised constituency. So, when we talk of equal distribution of resources, let us not imagine that there is a community that is receiving everything. Some of us are crying for the same, just like other communities. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I support the Motion of Adjournment, may I also mention that we have a national land policy that is still a proposal, and it is important for us, as Members of Parliament, to familiarise ourselves with it, knowing very well that as we speak here a lot of our land is now being bought by foreigners. As we continue fighting for small pieces of land, the bigger chunks of land in this country are being bought by foreigners. We need to be very clear in our minds on whether to allow reoccupation through the purchase of our own land; we have allowed foreigners to come and own land without any limitations. I support the Motion."
}