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"id": 197179,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. Laboso",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Sotik",
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"legal_name": "Joyce Cherono Laboso",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to make my maiden speech. My name is Ms. Lorna Laboso. I represent Sotik Constituency. I stand here to support the Presidential Speech which was quite exhaustive in many areas. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are certain areas that are quite dear to me. Sotik Constituency, just like many other parts of the country, was affected by post-election violence. However, the situation there was quite different. We tried so hard to quell the violence even though many people thought that it was caused by the people of Sotik Constituency. I want to let this House know that the post-election violence in Sotik Constituency erupted spontaneously immediately the Presidential results were announced. We tried our best to quell it. We had quite a number of peace meetings, especially with our neighbours, the Kisii. We even set up peace committees to ensure that the two communities live together in harmony. Even as we did so, we had a big problem with the security agents. There was a lot of shootings by police. Obviously, this angered our people. Many of our people died from police bullets. I hope that this issue will be addressed. I am quite happy that the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission will be set up to look into all those things. We know that there are many accusing fingers, but we would really like to leave a lot of that to the Commission. The Commission will tell us the real story behind the chaos. We know there are issues that date long way back. Many of us do not know that after every election in Sotik Constituency, there is always violence. In Chebilat, for example, what happened in 1992 is just exactly what happened in 2007. Many houses in Chebilat were burnt down. The two 332 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 20, 2008 communities fought for a long time. I hope leaders in that region will do their best to restore peace. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, another issue which contributed to the post-election violence is lack of employment among the youth. Many of our youth do not have jobs to do. When the Presidential election results were announced, the youth were unhappy. That is why they came out in large numbers to protest. They are young people who have no jobs. The last Government promised to create 500,000 job opportunities. That did not happen. Their hope was on a new Government that would address their plight. This issue must be addressed by the Grand Coalition Government. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we hope the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission will address most of the issues that have bedeviled this country for many years. I would urge the people concerned not to speak about it so much. There are many people in police cells. They are being blamed for the post-election violence. If the envisaged Commission will address this issue, among others, then I plead with the Government to release them. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President spoke about a committee to prioritise programmes and policies in the Government. Agriculture is the bread basket for Rift Valley Province. I hope that when we address those issues that are very pertinent to Kenyans, we will look at the tea industry which earns a lot of foreign currency to this country. Roads in the tea-growing areas are in a very bad state. It rains for three quarters of a year. Most of our roads are pathetic and impassable. A lot of tea is left on the roads to rot because it cannot reach factories to be processed. I hope that the committee will look into incentives in the agricultural industry. Most of the investors are discouraged from investing in Kenya because of the red tape bureaucracy. It really discourages many investors. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Sotik Constituency also happens to be an area where livestock is one of the bread-earners. A long time ago, there were veterinary officers all over the country. We had a lot of services, including the Artificial Insemination (AI). Right now, after the clashes, we do not have this service. I hope the Ministry of Agriculture will address issues of transport, so that the technical officers visit farms and advise farmers. Last year, Kenya Co- operative Creameries (KCC) returned the milk to the farmers or poured it because of the low batter. So, those technical officers from the Ministry of Agriculture should advise farmers accordingly. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President also talked about health care. I also look forward to the day when every Kenyan will walk to a hospital in Kenya and get services without paying a single cent. They will only need to show their identity cards and get services. This can only be made possible through changing some of policies in health care. It is possible for the rich to be able to pay for the health care, so that every Kenyan can walk to a hospital and get health service. In my constituency, every Harambee that we do is about hospital bills. I hope that this Parliament will come up with good policies to make sure that our people access health care without payment. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President also talked about gender. I hope that 30 per cent slots of Government appointments will be reserved for women. They always talk about 30 per cent, but it does not happen. I hope this time 30 per cent of Government appointments will go to women. We expect to see many women appointed as Permanent Secretaries and ambassadors. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President, in his Speech, talked about national security. We have had so many problems, especially at the borders, on security. In Sotik Constituency, two weeks ago, police went to a girls school to look for militias. The girls were so scared. I hope that the future security agents will be informed on how to handle such situations. I believe that there is a problem with the present security system. They go looking for what they term militias or warriors. In the process, they shoot people arbitrarily. We want that issue addressed by that National Security Committee. March 20, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 333 With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}