HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 197173,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/197173/?format=api",
"text_counter": 61,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Sambu",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Webuye",
"speaker": {
"id": 137,
"legal_name": "Alfred B. Wekesa Sambu",
"slug": "alfred-sambu"
},
"content": "I do not look at this situation with any form of regret. To the contrary, I look at it with a lot of satisfaction, because over the 20-year period I have had 20 years experience in facing the challenges posed by ethnicity. As we know, ethnicity is a great disease in this country and, all of us, of good faith, should fight hard to eliminate this problem. In 1988, when I first vied for this seat, I faced the challenge of ethnicity. I also faced the same challenge in 1992, all through to 2002. I am happy that the people of Webuye in 2007 conquered this problem. I am now here as their hon. Member. I would like to assure them that I will not let them down. I will do my best as their servant. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, during the 2007 General Election, wananchi turned up in large numbers to cast their votes. Generally, the voting exercise was very good. The counting of votes in various polling stations was conducted in a good manner. The announcement of the results of various parliamentary seats in general was also good. Later, after the disputed Presidential results, the country exploded. We feel very disappointed about this, because of the number of people who died, those who were displaced, those who lost their property and those who were traumatised. It is regrettable. But we went through this trying time and are now firmly together as a nation. I am proud that we are in the process of forming a Grand Coalition. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I fully support the Presidential Address. I give thanks not only to God, but also to the people of Kenya, who have worked very hard to bring us to where we are. I particularly would like to thank His Excellency Kofi Annan. At one stage, during the negotiations, we did not know if there was any hope. But he kept on telling us that there was hope, and eventually we realised a breakthrough in the negotiations. I would also like to thank the negotiators from both sides of the political divide, who worked day in, day out, to get us to where we are. Above all, I would like to thank His Excellency the President and Mr. Raila, the Prime Minister-designate, who stood before all of us and said: \"Kenya is above all of us. We must work together as Kenyans \". I thank them all. I feel proud of them. We now have the Peace Accord. That Accord, on its own, may not work, unless we all come together, as a nation, and fully support it. Looking at the events, and the way we passed the two Bills, all hon. Members supported the Bills. This shows that we are going to work together as a nation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a number of things were mentioned in the Presidential Address. I would like to comment on one or two of them, particularly the one to do with the issue of agriculture. I come from an agricultural area. Many hon. Members have commented on the high price of fertilizer. Much as this is an important factor, the price of fertilizer is fixed internationally. If you went out and asked for the price of fertilizer, you would find that it is very good. So, what is going on when the farmer is buying a bag of fertilizer for about Kshs4,000? The problem is internal. People have taken advantage of the effects of the post-election violence. They have hiked the transportation costs and the risks involved. This is what has brought about an increase in the price of fertilizer. This is something that can easily be looked into, especially with regard to the transportation costs. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we, in Western Province, practise sugar-cane farming March 20, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 329 on a large-scale. Sugar-cane farming is our mainstay. A few weeks ago, the Government, without making any consultations, gave a green light for people to import a lot of sugar into the country. This will create a lot of problems for Western Province, which produces a lot of sugar. This means that a lot of factories may not be able to sell sugar. This will result in a big problem to the farmer. I suggest that this problem should be looked into. If possible, the importation of sugar should be stopped. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to look at the issue of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from a different dimension. We have many children, who are probably learning in schools away from their homes. When the violence broke out, many children went to schools near their homes. As a result of this, in Western Province, there was a great influx of children who were non-residents, but are now back in the schools near their homes. That has resulted in a lot of physical infrastructure problems. We need more classrooms, dormitories and dinning halls. When we talk of supporting the IDPs, we should also be talking of students who have flooded their home schools and have no classrooms, dining halls or dormitories. I suggest that we should look into this issue. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, I would like to talk about security. There are some districts that were created recently. You find that in one district there is only one police station. All the police officers are congested in one police station. To move them from one area to another is very expensive and inefficient. I suggest that we spread out the police stations in some of the new districts. The police officers are there; they only need the physical facilities. If we provide the physical facilities, we can transfer the police officers within the district. If we transfer them, they will perform their duties more efficiently, and this will be less expensive to the Government. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}