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{
    "id": 197700,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/197700/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 27,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Balala",
    "speaker_title": "The Member for Mvita",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 9,
        "legal_name": "Najib Mohamed Balala",
        "slug": "najib-balala"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to say that I am not intimidating anybody. But really this country has gone through a lot of pain. It is the high time to understood this pain and resolved it once and for all. Because our principal leaders have agreed upon, we must support them. We all individually and collectively said that we are going to support peace. This is the beginning of peace. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is important that the Tenth Parliament rises above any other Parliament to formulate the vision of this country and the Kenyan dream. The Kenyan dream is not about documents and Vision 2030. It is about the real change in this country. I support the Vision 2030, but I will be too old to see that dream of the Vision 2030. I want it to be fast-tracked, so that the dream can be achieved before 2030 and all of us can enjoy. I want to see this Parliament become professional and modern. It should be digitized, so that we can vote electronically and not the way we have been voting. You have a responsibility, as the Speaker, to modernise this country. I want to see a civil servant who is serving me irrespective of my colour, religion and height, and who is responsive to the needs of the Kenyan citizens. Democracy is paramount. Political parties should be strengthened. I understand that when you join politics, you go through a political party and it becomes a vehicle to Parliament. When you reach Parliament, you join the Government and forget your political party. I appreciate the fact that the Ninth Parliament had passed the Political Parties Bill. I am not sure if it has been operationalised, so that we can benefit from that Bill. Mr. Speaker, Sir, two major things ail this country, namely, corruption and tribalism. We should realise that we are all Kenyans. I am glad I represent a cosmopolitan society which does not look at me in terms of my colour and I do not look at them as tribes. They are Kenyans and I serve them equally. It is time for all of us to address the disparities and inequalities in our society. We should look at issues like devolution and serve our people equally. We should empower them from the grassroots level. It is important for us to serve Kenyans equally. Kenya is important to the Sub- Saharan Africa and that is why, during the post-election violence, the world came to assist Kenya. Finally, I want to say that we are all careful about the security of this country. However, March 13, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 139 when we profile certain communities in the name of Terrorism and Organised Crimes Bill, that is questionable. It is important for us to make the police force independent and answerable to this House and not to anybody else, so that we can be treated with dignity, and criminals should be treated as criminals. A citizen should be treated as a citizen. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a time that this House will rise to make history. We can make history and leave a legacy. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}