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"id": 197184,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/197184/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kamau",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Kigumo",
"speaker": {
"id": 35,
"legal_name": "Jamleck Irungu Kamau",
"slug": "jamleck-kamau"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. My names are hon. Jamleck Kamau, Member for Kigumo Constituency. I want to start by thanking the people of Kigumo for electing me to be their Member of Parliament. They have given me a very onerous task; a task which I am prepared to handle for them to the best of my ability. I am telling the people of Kigumo that I am prepared to make a difference in their lives and make Kigumo a better place to be. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki and the Prime Minister-designate, hon. Raila Odinga, for showing statesmanship when they signed the Peace Accord. Those two gentlemen rose to the challenge when Kenya needed them most at its hour of need. I want to tell them that, that is an example of what we require for future leaders. I know that their actions were not in vain. This country will move to greater heights and I am very sure that, we will make things work in this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to congratulate the Panel of Eminent Persons led by His Excellency, Kofi Annan, for a job well done. Actually, their actions showed very clearly that Africans are capable of solving their own problems. We do not have to wait for the white man to come and tell us what to do. We, as Africans, are capable of solving our own problems. I remember that when Dr. Kofi Annan finished his very good job, my young son said to me: \"This gentleman called \"coffee\" has done a very good job. When I grow up, I would really like to be coffee!\" I told him: \"Maybe, you might not be like Kofi exactly, because he is a different person\". After all that discussion, he told me: \"Okay then, if I do not become coffee, I would like to become tea!\" Those are things that happen in life. His confusion was \"coffee\" and \"tea\" and, at the end of the day, the whole idea is that my son knew clearly what that gentleman had done for this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to support one of the speakers who spoke today and said that we should recognize Kofi Annan by, perhaps, naming one of the roads in Nairobi after him. He actually talked about Processional Way. I support that recommendation. It could be called \"Kofi Annan Way\". May I also congratulate the team of negotiators from both sides of the political divide. They did us proud and we are really happy. Congratulations are also in order for Members of Parliament for agreeing to pass the two Bills. It went a long way to show that, indeed, even after fighting for too long in the general elections and even calling each other names, we can still sit together and be brothers and sisters. There is nothing as satisfying as knowing that you have a brother next to you, irrespective of where he comes from. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, what this Parliament did last week is historical in its own sense. The coalition which was set up by this Parliament is something that has never happened before. I would like to urge this House to make sure that it does not take any action that may result in this Grand Coalition arrangement failing in a few years down the line. It is important to us, Members of Parliament and leaders - and especially those two leaders - to ensure that none of them has any hidden and dangerous card under the table. Let them put the interest of this nation first, and this country will move forward. I can tell you that, in building alliances and coalitions, you, honestly, must trust each other. As Nelson Mandela once said, and I quote him: \"No true alliance can be build on the shifting sands of evasions, illusions and opportunism\". I would also like to say, on the same token, that no true Grand Coalition can be build on the shifting sands of intolerance, March 20, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 339 dishonesty, mistrust and lack of confidence and respect for divergent views amongst the two sides of the political divide. I believe it will work! I believe that Kenya will be a land of peace for the next five years and beyond. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as we all celebrate the signing of that Accord and the amendment of the Constitution, may I also take this opportunity to register some little disappointment to the effect that, perhaps, it looks like this House may have no Opposition. It is something worrying, but, I believe, as Members of Parliament, we will have to also rise to the occasion and make sure that we keep the Government on its toes. I believe that there is always a danger that when there is no Opposition, the governing party can become too arrogant and, sometimes, too confident of itself to an extent of becoming dictatorial. I believe that, as hon. Members, we must stand up and make sure that we criticise the Government whenever possible. I believe that as long as we have checks and balances, the Government will be kept on its toes properly. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President's Address touched on the issue of the post-election violence that claimed more than 1000 lives of innocent Kenyans. I want to thank him for setting up a national humanitarian assistance unit alongside the directorate for resettlement of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). When we are in this House today, being very comfortable and earning huge salaries, there are those Kenyans who are outside there languishing in IDP camps, and life is not in their best interests. There are those who were killed by others and others died from bullets. I want to say that there was absolutely no reason for us Kenyans to have gone to that extent. I would like to see us, this time in this country, being able to say with confidence that it is within our ability to declare that never again shall our country be reduced to smoking battle-fields of contending forces of ethnic hatred. Never again shall our country have any Kenyan die because of ethnic violence. No Kenyan should enjoy lesser rights for being tormented because they were born in a particular area, hold political views or pray to God in a different manner from others. I hope that in future, that will never happen. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my constituency, Kigumo, depends largely on coffee and tea as its main cash crops. I am happy to note that the President proposed some legislative action and policy agenda, which included amending the Coffee Act to provide for direct sales of coffee. We all understand that coffee in this country has had serious problems. One of the main issues is that of middlemen. As we shall deliberate in this House when that legislation comes up, we will have to do away with middlemen, so that the amount of money reaching the farmer at the end of the day will actually be a little bit higher than now. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the youth cannot be left behind. A country that does not think about its youth has absolutely no future. I am also happy to note that the Government will re-table the Sessional Paper on Employment Policy for discussion in this House. I am also sure that we will be able to provide enough jobs for our young people. The issue of infrastructure is one of the problems of Kigumo. I believe that the Government will work hard towards making sure that roads in all areas are done properly. With those few remarks, I support."
}