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"id": 206854,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Mugo",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Education",
"speaker": {
"id": 85,
"legal_name": "Beth Wambui Mugo",
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank you for the opportunity, although it is only five minutes. Let me begin by congratulating the Minister and his very able team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a job well-done. We are proud to see that the image of this country is steadily improving. We are getting more respect and the Ministry is the mirror of our country and; we definitely want to thank them. We know that in developed countries, ministries of foreign affairs are the number one ministries, and we would like to see our Ministry of Foreign Affairs attain that status. One way of doing that is that we should be able to vote more money to this Ministry for the services they are giving. I am greatly impressed that when we go to foreign countries for conferences and see that our embassies have very lean staff and, most of the time, very few vehicles. They really struggle to service those conferences, and do a very good job. So, I would like to plead with the Minister for Finance - and I am glad he is here - to make sure that, next time, this Ministry is given more money. It deserves more money. Mr. Temporary Deputy Sir, I would like to say that, even with trade being number one in diplomacy, there is still the traditional areas which must be paid attention to and which are very important in terms of giving any country dignity. Sometimes, we are amazed when we hear that the Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya is negotiating with foreign diplomats or foreign missions for funding elections in Kenya. We would like to see that kind of thing going through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That is a Government institution. In diplomacy, it is the practice that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the one that deals with all foreign matters. So, whether it is funding of whatever Government institution, I think the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the one which should be entrusted with such activity. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are happy with the policies of the Ministry, especially with regard to opening new areas of co-operation. We are happy with the many visits that His Excellency the President, our foreign Minister and others have made to new areas such as the Peoples' Republic of China. That has opened new avenues of co-operation and development. It has fast-tracked development in this country. I think that is a major policy change for foreign affairs in our country. Let me also echo the need for our foreign Ministry to look out for international jobs, especially in the United Nations (UN). It is true that we are very lean on that area. We do not go out there to campaign for our candidates for such jobs. That is what happens in other countries, particularly our neighbours. I do not believe it is because they have better candidates. It is because they make it their business to go out there and scout for those jobs. They are important because they put the country on the international map. I would like to add that we have very many qualified people. I would like also to add that we appreciate now that gender is coming into play in the 3514 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 28, 2007 foreign service. We have quite a few women who are now being appointed. But they are not enough. We would like to see, Mr. Minister, more women appointed to those very important positions. In fact, it is the practice now, if you look at the UN. The Deputy Secretary-General now is a lady from Tanzania. We also had Madam Getrude Mongella from Tanzania who was also a Deputy Secretary-General at some time. We would like to see that happening in Kenya. I hope that, just because we do not have affirmative action in this country, as it was defeated by this very House--- That is degrading the women of this country. Maybe, in international fora, they think that there are no women in this country who are qualified to do those jobs. So, Mr. Minister for Foreign Affairs, I do hope that we will see more women coming into play in foreign affairs. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to see a situation where Kenyans are explained more about our foreign relations and policy. We have seen, especially the Muslim community, complaining bitterly about certain----"
}