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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I want to compliment the Minister for finding the good language and attitude to present this particular Bill, which is very important to this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am thinking about the history of constitutional amendments in this country and elsewhere in the world. We tried two years ago in Bomas and we, eventually, went through a Referendum to amend the Constitution, but were terribly unable to achieve anything. What I learnt from this is that like in other countries in the world, where people have successfully changed their Constitution, to change a Constitution, we must be directed by great national need for the same. That need sometimes might not necessarily be out of our own choice, but out of a crisis. If it is not a crisis, it would be something as bad as the absence of peace. Mr. Speaker, Sir, now that we have moved closer to a great national need, national crisis and almost to the total absence of peace; I am convinced that given the goodwill I am seeing in the country, and in this particular Parliament, will allow us to pass this Bill into law. But as we pass this law, the real challenge, in my heart, is not necessarily what we should have done. We are doing 198 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 18, 2008 this to achieve peace. Even if the President assents to this proposed law, it cannot guarantee peace to this country. Real peace in this country will come upon these laws being enacted after we have addressed serious national issues in this country. We have issues in this country, which if addressed, then, indeed, what we are going to do this afternoon, will be cemented in stone. By this I mean that until what we do today is accompanied with physical and peaceful resettlement of Kenyans who were internally displaced, that peace, we might as well be talking about it to the birds. This is because the people who were internally displaced are not the first ones to be displaced in this country. In the Ninth Parliament, we used to clash here very seriously on the issue of the people who were evicted from the Mau Forest. My immediate former boss at the Ministry of East African Community, hon. John Koech, whom I once accompanied to Chepalungu, was heckled by his constituents when he tried to justify the need for preservation of forests and therefore, displacement of the people. The former Minister was seriously heckled before us. When he lost his seat, I said, maybe, Members of Parliament from areas where we have internally displaced persons (IDPs) might actually fear to go home. They may fear to tell the public to accept the people who were displaced during the crisis. Members of Parliament must be the first people to go home and ask their constituents to accept the people who were displaced. It is my pleasure to announce here, on the Floor of the National Assembly, that, as the people of Omulembe from Western Province, we have opened the gates and welcomed them. They are free to settle in the areas they were evicted from in Western Province. There is the issue of the new constitutional order. If we do not bring a new constitutional order in this country, then even the law that we are passing today will be for nothing. We have the issue of land in this country. Even if we sign this thing into law, and we do not address the land question, there will be no peace in this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is the issue of the youth. The youth of this country have given us a second chance. I can assure you that when I saw people in street battles and running, in my measured judgement as a medical doctor, I never saw anybody who looked like he or she was over 50 years old. These people were youths. So, they have given us a break--- If we only engage in our job of wanting to be this and that--- The youth have given you a break; if you do not address them, then that job that you are craving for in this particular Government will count for nothing. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have been reading newspapers and listening to the electronic media. I have really been disappointed by some of us. People have been making claims, such as \"I want to be the First Deputy Prime Minister or the Second Deputy Prime Minister\". My sisters and brothers, you should use your time to show Kenyans that you care, not for purposes of having that job but for purposes of making sure that the people who are downtrodden are seen to benefit. A case in point is the issue of the Deputy Prime Ministers. His Excellency the President has always insisted that 30 per cent of national offices should be for women. When hon. Raila was launching his presidential campaign he said he was increasing it from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. Yes, if it is that way, then if the President is a man, the Vice President is a man, the Prime Minister is man, why can the two Deputy Prime Ministers not be women?"
}