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"id": 197339,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/197339/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mbiuki",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Nithi",
"speaker": {
"id": 79,
"legal_name": "Japhet M. Kareke Mbiuki",
"slug": "japhet-kareke-mbiuki"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. My names are Mr. Japhet Kareke, Member for Nithi Constituency. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me take this golden opportunity to thank the Nithi people for overwhelmingly voting for me in the December, 2007 general elections. Let me also take the same opportunity to congratulate all the hon. Members who managed to make it to this 302 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 19, 2008 august House. We know that the elections were very competitive. I believe that the last elections produced real leaders. In the Mount Kenya region, the elections were based on the credibility of the leaders. We had no party euphoria as it normally happens. I believe that the leaders who are here are the best we could ever have from that region. I would like to take this opportunity to give a picture of Nithi Constituency. When the results of the Presidential elections were announced, there was hue and cry about results from Nithi Constituency. Nithi is one of the few constituencies in the country which have two districts. I am honoured to have two District Commissioners, one in Mala District and the other one in Chuka District. Nithi is one of the largest constituencies we have in the country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President mentioned about the review of the Constitution in his Address to this House. During that exercise, one of the issues we would like to embark on is the review of constituencies boundaries. We feel that we have suffered a serious historical injustice in Nithi. I strongly believe that I am here by the grace of the Lord, because working in Nithi was not something easy. In his Address, the President touched on tribalism. He also talked about youth unemployment. It is the young people who can unite this country. The youth do not know boundaries. In Nithi, we have four Meru sub-tribes. There is the Mwimbi, which I come from, the Muthambi, the Chuka and the Tharaka. All along the Chuka people used to produce a Member of Parliament. The last Member of Parliament to be elected from the Mwimbi sub-tribe was the late Bernard Mati. For the last 25 years, the Mwimbi people have never produced a Member of Parliament, but this time the youth united in one common cause to produce a Member of Parliament among themselves. I am honoured here today because the youth of Nithi united for one common cause. They knew no boundaries; they did not know where I came from, but they all voted for me. So, if we rally the youth in this country and address their issues properly, I believe that the tribalism that we are seeing across the country will be a thing of the past. As I have earlier stated, I was elected on a youth platform. One of my biggest challenges and the biggest challenges of this House is how to address the unemployment situation in the country. We are sitting on a serious time-bomb. If these issues are not properly addressed, we shall have a serious catastrophe in this country. We can address the issue of unemployment in this country through entrepreneurship. I am one of the beneficiaries of entrepreneurship. When the NARC Government took over, the financial sectors opened up. It became easier for people to borrow money from banks. We were able to invest in small ways and create a lot of wealth for our people. We created a lot of employment. When I was campaigning I was promising the young people that when I got to the august House I would make arrangements, so that, at least, every three young people can get a matatu from a financial institution. One person will be a driver, another one a conductor and the other one a loader. At the end of the day three youths will be in employment. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, our biggest challenge is how to take care of the youth. If we can utilise the current situation where there is peace, and liaise with the financial sector, we shall be able to tackle that issue. We have organised serious youth fora, in conjunction with the Equity Bank, in Nithi Constituency, and the youth are seriously banking on our projects. We believe that white-collar jobs are difficult to come by. Most of the people who come to knock on our doors come to seek jobs and we have nothing to offer. So, I encourage the coalition Government to seriously address the issue of unemployment. The current Youth Enterprise Development Fund, which had Kshs1 billion could not do much. You find that a small youth group was getting Kshs50,000. What can Kshs50,000 do? It is a big March 19, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 303 challenge, and I call upon the Government to take the issue of unemployment seriously. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other issue that I would like to talk about is the constituency boundaries review. It is my wish, and the wish of most of hon. Members, for this House to set specific criteria on how the boundaries will be reviewed. We can set some standard that any constituency with more than 100,000 registered voters will automatically be reviewed in the next elections. We are now more or less going to the Parliamentary system of government. In the last review of constituency boundaries, the major beneficiaries were in Rift Valley. In Central Province we were left out because we were not politically-correct at that time. The Motion about constituency review of boundaries was in this House during the 9th Parliament, and was defeated because some hon. Members thought that new constituencies would be created in Central Province. So, we need specific guidelines on how we can entrench constituency boundaries review and its specifics in the Constitution. The review should be based on population and geographical factors, so that some of us do not get into difficulties. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) is becoming a very big challenge to manage, especially in a big constituency like Nithi. I would like to say that instead of 2.5 per cent it should be increased to 7 per cent, so that we can have equity, and be able to initiate projects in the larger constituencies. As much as we try, it is an uphill task to implement projects across a big constituency. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our two principals for agreeing to work together. In 2002, after the elections, they started working together. But, unfortunately, any coalition which is formed before elections is bound to fail. I am 100 per cent sure that this particular time they enjoy the goodwill of the country, and are going to succeed. The most important thing is to trust each other and believe in a common cause, and the good of the nation and not in individual interests. Most of us expected to get some positions in the Government, but we shall be comfortable to work in whatever position that we may get for the sake of this country. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}