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"id": 206563,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/206563/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Weya",
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"speaker": {
"id": 304,
"legal_name": "Sammy Arthur Weya",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Attorney-General should have taken the opportunity to call the Kenya High Commission in the United Kingdom and find out whether the company called Anglo Leasing Finance Limited actually existed or it only existed on paper. Before giving out a tender, we should always verify the existence, or otherwise, of the physical address of the company to which the tender is being awarded. All that an ambassador has to do is drive his vehicle to the premises where the company is said to be housed and find out whether the Government is, indeed, getting into a contract with a company. I have heard many students overseas complain that they, really, get disservice from the ambassadors running our foreign offices. The students said that they call the ambassadors to their student functions, but the ambassadors only send their representatives. They have some concerns, as students, in those countries, which they want addressed, because they are foreigners there. They believe that only their Government could talk to the governments of the countries where they are resident. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in various occasions, you find that students in those countries say that the ambassadors do not represent them, and that whenever they go to the embassies to ask for assistance, they get let down. They say that some of the ambassadors have no clue of what is going around them in that country or elsewhere. There were times when dramatic events unfolded in certain countries, and students went to the embassies to ask for assistance, but they were not given any assistance. Recently, while in Australia, I came across a case where a student had died within a shopping mall. The students in that country went to the ambassador and asked the embassy to represent them. They went to find out what the Government was going to do to get a lawyer. The students had found out that their colleague was pushed by one of the bouncers in those premises, and that he was injured but they reached a deadlock, because they did not know how to proceed. At the end of the day, the problem was not solved. Within the embassies, there is supposed to be the position of the First Secretary, or some legal people within those offices, who can address the legal issues relating to what may happen in a particular country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, some of the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started serving at low levels, on the assumption that they would rise through the ranks, as persons who were working within that Ministry, and that at one time they would be ambassadors. For many years, for various reasons, you find that you continue operating within the Ministry until you reach the age of 55 and then you are retired without travelling abroad to represent your country as an ambassador, the reason being that most of the ambassadors are hand-picked by the country's 3568 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 29, 2007 Chief Executive of the day, who will want to pick somebody who is politically-correct, or who supported him during the campaigns for his election. So, he will pick somebody who has no clue as to what being an ambassador is all about. At one time, he will pick a bishop. At another time, he will pick a military officer. He might even pick a police officer to go and represent the Kenyan people in an embassy overseas. So, you can imagine if you are a Kenyan citizen living overseas and you go to our embassy out there and find a military officer called \"His Excellency Brig. So-and-so.\" He will treat you like a soldier! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, such a person will not treat you like a civilian, because he has dealt with soldiers throughout his life. For example the President may appoint a bishop who was busy, praying for him during the election campaign. If you go to such an embassy for assistance, he will try to console you with prayers. He will tell you: \"Let me pray for you, young man, because you have a problem\". So, your concerns may not be addressed. You might be told: \"Drink wine\", because since he is a Bishop, he is used to drinking wine. So, he ends up frustrating his host, because he cannot drink wine. As I said, part of the job of the embassies is to look after the investment interests of the country, not only within the specific country to which one is posted, but also the investment exchange between the various countries. You find that in some cases, Kenya imports more from certain countries, and that very few of our products go to those countries. That is because, the representation in such countries is not up to the mark. We should ensure that persons going to represent Kenya in industrial countries have some idea about industry, and that those going to represent Kenya in countries which import tea and coffee are people who have an idea about what export of tea and coffee is all about. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, sometime back, a Question was brought to the House, asking how a company in Kenya had exported tea to an overseas country. The problem was that tea had been sent overseas but there was no payment forthcoming. That is why we need our embassies abroad to have a desk officer, who will relate to and correspond with Kenyans, instead of someone flying many miles to go and solve a problem, which will only take our ambassador in that country to find out what the problem is, thereby helping his fellow countrymen. As Kenya's ambassador to that country, he will be doing something that is more useful than just sitting behind a desk twice a week, and going for luncheons and dinners in various embassies most of the time, and eventually becoming an alcoholic. When you just spend time wining and dining, you become an alcoholic. Most of our ambassadors abroad can even become alcoholics, because that is what they do. Let us make them more useful. I know of an ambassador who has been sent to a certain industrial country. Every time Kenyans go there, they find that he is conversant with the business that is concerned. He is able to receive delegations, organise meetings with businessmen of that country, so that even when a delegation goes there from Kenya, you find that he has collected all the industrial people and put them in a hall and he says: \"This is a Kenyan delegation. We are selling our country\". So, the ambassador there is useful to the country. I have been to a country where the ambassador is useful. He even tells us to talk to the businessmen to attract investment to our country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as Members of Parliament, part of our job is to attract in investment, on behalf of the Kenyan Government. When we go out there, we, individually, serve as ambassadors of this country. We do not have to go out there and spend most of the time in hotels and going shopping. We can become more useful to this country. I once went for a meeting where Members of Parliament from other African countries carried huge booklets, CDs and magazines featuring certain aspects of their countries. They attended meetings and presented them to all the other people there. With those remarks, I beg to support. August 29, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3569"
}