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"id": 197982,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/197982/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Lekuton",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Laisamis",
"speaker": {
"id": 66,
"legal_name": "Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton",
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for this opportunity. First, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Joseph Lekuton, Member of Parliament for Laisamis. I would like to thank my constituents for electing me for a second time. The first time was through a by-election. I do wholeheartedly support the President's speech. It was a speech of reconciliation, and a new beginning for this country and a new renaissance for us all. It is truly a time to heal a nation. There is an old saying that says that if you want peace, prepare for war. But in this country we say that if you want peace, prepare for justice. That means justice for the poor, the oppressed, the landless, the internally displaced people (IDPs) and for anyone who cannot stand up for themselves. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a pastor in Nazi Germany in 1932 said in German, and this is one of the points Mr. Annan raised: \"They first came for the communists; I did not speak up because I was not a communist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak up because I was not a Jew. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak up because I am was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics; I did not speak up because I was not a Catholic. Then they came for me and by that time, there was no one left to speak up\". In Kenya, we are lucky enough to have two men who are old enough to speak for us. I would like also to thank the negotiation teams from both sides for doing a wonderful job. They sat day and night to make sure this nation had peace. We thank them all. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President's Address touched on many issues regarding our daily lives, such as unemployment, economic growth, energy, education, agriculture and much more. With the success of this Government, the past successes, and with the anticipation of a great economic growth down the road, I only think it is fair if we spread that wealth across this country. Napoleon said that the strongest oak tree of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun; it is the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds, rains and the scorching sun. I come from a very vast area in the north of the country, which measures 26,000 square kilometres. I feel that we have been left behind in many ways, and we are not crying in this case. It is a fact. I echo my colleagues who have spoken about that issue in the past. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, to be specific, there are four points that I would like to raise. There is need to revisit the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) distribution poverty index. In my area, in 2003, when they did a poverty index evaluation, we lost 90 per cent of our livestock, yet the basis of the allocation of CDF funds was wealth. As nomads, cattle and camels March 12, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 127 are our wealth; the moment they die due to drought or banditry, we go back to square one. So, we would like the allocation index to be looked at again and rectified immediately. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is also need to identify the appropriate energy sources in those areas. For example, the wind power and solar research in the north should be speeded up. In some parts of my constituency, we have a wind speed of nine revolutions per minute. With masts in the region, we are capable of producing 25 per cent of this country's current electricity requirement. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is also need to urgently address the poor infrastructure. I travel for about 1,100 kilometres from Nairobi to my constituency, and only 300 of those kilometres are tarmacked. Thinking logically, five years of travelling along those bad roads, what would happen to my back and most of my colleagues' backs, and yet we represent our nation here? So, infrastructure is a key point that we should all look at. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, also, there is need to hold accountable any oil drilling companies connected with oil exploration. They need to have some serious environmental assessment. They need to seriously take into consideration some cancer cases that have sprung up in northern Kenya where, in 1989, there was some oil exploration in Kargi, North Horr area. We have had a huge increase of cancer patients coming to Nairobi and other parts of this country. So, anytime we have oil exploration or anything of that sort, we need, as a Government, to put measures that will adequately look into people's health. We should not only look for the resources that the oil products will bring. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, there is the issue of cattle rustling. As I speak now, about three days ago, there was an attack by between 200 and 300 bandits who attacked a village in my home area and got away with 2,000 head of cattle. We need to ensure that our forces do their work to make sure that those people who toil for many years to breed their livestock and sacrifice in the scorching sun and drying rivers to make sure that they have got all of those animals, and all of a sudden, in a flash of a minute, are made poor and paupers--- We need the Government to increase the security forces in the north and have a lasting solution to the problems affecting those areas. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if I have the time, allow me to just tell a short story about a village that a long time ago had big enmity between two tribes. One day, the scouts from one tribe came and told their villagers that their enemies were coming in hundreds. In that village, there were two men who were disabled. One had no legs and the other one had no eyes. The villagers quickly gathered their stuff together and the chief elder said: \"We have to run because the enemies are coming.\" Those two men were left in the village waiting to be killed. Both of them reasoned and asked themselves: \"What do we do to survive? What can we do to make sure that we help ourselves?\" The blind man was a strong man and the man who could not walk had very sharp eyes. So, they reasoned together and the blind man went down on his knees and told the man who could not walk to go over his back. He stood up so that the man on top could see and the blind man could walk. So, they slowly traced down the villages and passed them. We were chosen by our people and they carried us to this Parliament. We ought to be their eyes to make sure that we succeed in our society. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to support."
}