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"id": 204213,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Arungah",
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"id": 292,
"legal_name": "Julius Odenyo Arungah",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to second this Motion. In seconding this Motion, I will appeal that the issue of ethnicity be handled very soberly. If badly handled, we could tear this country into pieces. This Motion seeks to establish a Select committee which, in my view, will have the following four objectives. First, to explore the role of public agencies in facilitating a fair integration of our country's ethnic communities into the public sector employment. Second, to find out the role and effectiveness of statutes and statutory instruments and see how they can be used to promote a fair regional and ethnic balance in public sector or even private sector. Third, to consider how the different ethnic communities can be integrated into employment agencies. Finally and more importantly, to review or find out the role the Government can play in promoting the national cohesion and integration of all communities in public and private sector employment. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, ethnicity has a history. If you look at the first regime that ruled Kenya, and the employment trends in Kenya, it will tell you a story. Predominantly, we had people, like hon. Ojode has alluded, who occupied senior positions that had come from a particular district. When the second regime took over power, we saw a trend where people who were in those jobs were systematically replaced by people from another region, Bonde la Ufa . When the regime changed again, we have seen a scenario where that has changed. We now see employment opportunities based on where the Head of State comes from. There are cases where ethnicity can be innocent in itself. As leaders, when we go to look for support to get into positions of leadership, we have tendencies to appeal, initially, to our tribes- people to support us so that we get those positions of responsibility. When we ascend to those positions of responsibility, there comes a pay back period. We become hostage to the support that we initially received. The people will always say that they are the ones who supported you and so September 12, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3835 you have to reward them for supporting you. There are cases where ethnicity is practised, and yet it is innocent. There is another form of ethnicity which is innocent in the sense that if you ascend to a position of responsibility and there is an employment opportunity, there are tendencies to give those jobs to people that you know. Since you have a mandate to deliver a service, you tend to employ people who will help you deliver whatever it is. Nine out of ten, you will find that these are people that you went to school with and most likely they come from your area. You will have a tendency to pick these people for the simple reason that you happen to know them. So, it is not really that you want to be tribal, but you are choosing people who are competent although they happen to come from the same region as you do. My colleague has alluded and given us a dossier of some of the positions that have been filled by people from one region. I knew I would second this Motion, and I have done some research. You will be amazed at how much people on the other side will have to say. I have an example here of where out of the so many parastatals, they have named about 33 of them that are occupied by non-Kikuyus. I have cases of five or six non-Kikuyu Vice-Chancellors. I have cases here of about 27 non-Kikuyu Permanent Secretaries, I have cases of 15 non-Kikuyu officers who are occupying very important Government Departments. They have also given a dossier on the number of judges we have. Out of the 50, we have 17--- Thirty three of them happen to be non- Kikuyus."
}