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"id": 197929,
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"speaker_name": "Maj. Sugow",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Fafi",
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"legal_name": "Aden Ahmed Sugow",
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"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity, first of all, to introduce myself, so that our new colleagues will know me. We are still knowing each other. My name is Maj. Sugow, the Member of Parliament for Fafi Constituency. In the morning when I started my contribution, I had taken about two minutes thanking the President and the Prime Minister designate for the leadership that they have provided in taking this country out of the quagmire that it has been in. The onus is on us now, as parliamentarians, to ensure that we maintain the pace, so that the relative peace that we have started to enjoy can continue to develop until all Kenyans trust each other. Right now, in many areas in this country, there is lack of trust among communities and we still need to maintain the leadership that has been put in place by the two principals. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the problems bedeviling this country has got nothing to do with the last elections. The last elections only acted as a trigger for the underlying problems facing this country. These problems date back to the colonial times. They need to be addressed seriously and I do not think the Accord will address them. The Accord is only a kind of a first aid to bring the patient to the real hospital, so that the real treatment can start. The sooner the two Bills which were mentioned, namely, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Bill and the Ethnic Relations Bill are brought to this House, the better. I was hoping that they will all be published and brought to the House. These two Bills are very critical to addressing the underlying problems which have caused the mayhem in this country. Right now, there are so many areas in this country showing some kind of relative peace, or rather they show some apparent tranquil. But, in reality, historical injustices dating back to colonial times are still persistent today. There are quite a number of issues that have made certain areas in this country, particularly the former Northern Frontier District (NFD), try to secede immediately after Independence. This was brought about by problems that emanated from marginalisation by the colonial administration. Mr. Speaker, Sir, just before Independence in Kenya, the then leaders from the NFD felt that they were not ready in terms of being in tandem, development-wise, with the rest of Kenya. They had opted to remain under the colonial administration for a while before they could really determine their destiny through a referendum. That was not to be. That is what made the then leaders attempt a secession. Out of that settlement, there came the Arusha Declaration of 1967 where an MOU was written. It was not legislated like we are doing now. That MOU, among other items, stated that the NFD was to get 20 per cent GDP for the following 20 years, so as to be in tandem, development- wise, with the rest of the country. That did not happen. That kind of affirmative action was also supposed to take place in terms of employment. We do not know where that document is. We only have its history in the form of the people who took part in that agreement. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is lack of respect for agreements by subsequent governments in this country that is actually bringing problems. This provides a very opportune moment today to address all these problems. So, when we are talking about putting this Accord in place, the commission that we are to form must address these problems. The marginalised communities are in some way happy and also a little bit apprehensive in that the coming together of this House is 96 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 12, 2008 making smaller communities feel a little irrelevant in the pecking order of this country. If it is a question of numbers that will be determining who becomes what, then we are in problems. It is very important, therefore, to ensure that there is equity. Today, if I could just give you one development parameter, the ratio of doctors to patients in North Eastern Province is 1 to 120,000. This means that there is one doctor for every 120,000 patients. The most endowed province in respect to that parameter in Kenya today has one doctor to 120,000 patients. Look at that disparity. It is these disparities that are making this country not move forward. It will not move forward unless we comprehensively address these problems in this House. We do not have any other chance. So, the earlier we get a comprehensive constitutional order in this country, the better for us. Once we sign this Accord--- With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}