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"id": 206595,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/206595/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Billow",
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"speaker": {
"id": 260,
"legal_name": "Billow Adan Kerrow",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I will spend my time more on foreign relations as opposed to the emphasis on foreign affairs. I want to specifically spend more time discussing the USA, Israel relations and our policy on Somalia. Before I do so, I would like to say that the Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs talked about the way our positive image locally helps our foreign relations abroad. In the same breath, it also goes that the negative image or perceptions in the country affect our relations with countries outside. In this regard, I think it is important, in addition to the positive issues he has mentioned, that some of the negative issues regarding bad governance have really affected our foreign policies. We always read in the foreign Press about corruption and so forth. It is important that we work as a nation, towards improving governance so that our image can be improved out there. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of the Ministry, I think generally, it is under good management. We are happy with the way they are managing it both at the policy level and at the technical level. I am also happy that being a Member of the Public Accounts Committee, I have seen some of the changes which are being made in terms of the operations of the Ministry. Quite often, the concerns have been the huge expenditures that are spend on the foreign missions in terms of allowances, housing and so on. If you go out there, you will see that as a poor country, Kenya, we are probably living beyond our means. I have seen some of the changes that are being made to try and perhaps, rationalise expenditure and the way operations are being done so that these foreign missions can be more efficient and accountable. Our vision should inform our foreign policy. I think if it is our vision today, that we must enhance our relationships with the countries in the East for the purpose of developing our economy, then our foreign policy should be informed by that decision. We have seen, in the last three years, that the Government seems to have focused more towards the Eastern counties in terms of the economic relationships. I think because of that, it is important that we shift our foreign focus towards those countries. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a lot has been said about commerce. Today, the emphasis should not only be about foreign affairs. We should not only be concerned about the issues of Kenyans and so forth. Our concerns should be about commerce and export. We should also look at education. Education is equally important. In my view, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should enhance the education and commercial attaches or departments because those are the ones which are of great significance. We all agree in this regard. It should be our interest that should determine where we put up foreign missions and not the interest of other countries. The same way, we should encourage countries where we have huge businesses or economic opportunities to have missions in this country. If you look at a country like Dubai or the United Arab Emirates with which Kenyans are doing a lot of business, they do not have a mission or an embassy here. It is important to encourage countries with whom we trade, so that we can break away from the traditional relationships that have been there from the colonial period. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me come to my main concern about our foreign policy. As much as we know that it is important that we maintain relationships with the US, I think the way the Kenya Government, in the last few months, has related, with the US leaves a lot to be desired. We, literally, have given up our sovereignty to the US because we get into a situation 3582 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 29, 2007 where---"
}