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{
"id": 213115,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/213115/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Muchiri",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Local Government",
"speaker": {
"id": 225,
"legal_name": "Muchiri Geoffrey Gachara",
"slug": "geoffrey-gachara"
},
"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I want to make a few comments on this Motion which, I think, needs to be supported. The issue of security in this country is paramount to Kenyans. The people who provide security are actually the policemen. I think it is necessary for police officers to be given the necessary incentives to do their work safely and efficiently. That is because the police and other security agencies are generally exposed to enormous risks. Those are men and women of this country who have chosen to protect Kenyans. I think they have chosen an exemplary undertaking. It is only fair that they are remunerated well. When President Kibaki took over the reins of this country, salaries of police officers were revised. I think for now, it is fair. It needs to be improved but, for now, it fair. It is not the way we found it when we took power. I think the Mover of this Motion is alluding to very important things such as medical, extraneous and all the other allowances listed in the Motion. I will only urge the Ministry to look into that because very pertinent issues are being raised in this Motion. It is all a question of funding. We would like to urge the Treasury to give a little more funding to the Ministry in charge of Provincial Administration so that, all these things could be carried out. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all know that the Budget for the Ministry of State for Administration and National Security is barely Kshs29 billion. Much of it, as we read in the Budget - about Kshs26 billion - is actually going to Recurrent Expenditure. Only Kshs3 billion will be spent on infrastructure and the rest. To that extent, the Government is on its track to have that Ministry well funded. I think there is still some room for the Treasury to look into the whole question of funding that Ministry. For all these things to be done, it will require some money. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think another thing that needs to be considered in line with this is the whole question of compensation to victims of crime. I feel we should start this kind of fund because a lot of people suffer from insecurity. In my constituency, for example, security is not good. This is because in order to move from one area to another, we have to go through a road crossing a forest. We are suffering a lot of insecurity in our area. It is only the other day that some people were gunned down in a supermarket near Nyahururu Town in my constituency. Although this Ministry has done the best it can, I think there is still room for the same to be improved. Sometimes I rank security top on the agenda of this Government. Where there is insecurity, education cannot flourish and even health issues cannot be tackled properly. Therefore, security matters must now be the top agenda in this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for security to be the top agenda in this country, it calls for recruitment of more police officers. This is an area that can be looked into. Currently, we know the Government is recruiting officers into its various police colleges. However, if we really want to curb insecurity, we must be able to improve the police population ratio. It must be improved so that we are able to see, at least, a policeman handling a population of about 100 people. If that is not attainable in the near future, we should be able to recruit homeguards comprised of retired officers who are willing to protect the people in the villages. This happens in the northern part of this country and the pastoralist areas where some people are allowed to carry guns, so that they are able to curb insecurity. Sometimes a police station or base, may be far away from the citizens, like five kilometres away. For them to respond to an emergency, it takes time and these gangs know that. They know that our policemen are incapacitated in terms of transport. So, if there are people near that population who are able to own guns, for example, then the gangsters will be afraid to strike. These gangs are said to be powerful because they have guns. Therefore, I would like to call upon the Ministry to make it easier for those who want to own guns to do so. I am sure that if that happens, we will be able to curb insecurity in this country. This is happening in other countries. Even private security guards have guns in Uganda and Tanzania. The other day, I July 18, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2583 was in Tanzania, and saw that every private guard had a gun. For that reason, I think we should move very fast, so that we can ensure that insecurity is being dealt with. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I must laud the good work the policemen are doing despite working in very difficult and strenuous circumstances. They are moving at night to ensure that security is in place. I must thank and laud the Minister, hon. Michuki, because much as he can be said to be tough, this kind of docket requires a no-nonsense Minister. We must thank him for the measures he has put in place to ensure that even the likes of Mungiki adherents are controlled. We need to encourage this Ministry. We do not need to bash them because that is not the issue. We need to encourage them to do even more good work that they are doing in this country, particularly in Nairobi. We want to ensure that urban areas are well lit, so that gangs have nowhere to hide. We also want to encourage property owners to ensure that their front rows are also lit because during darkness, the devil wants to sow his seeds. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are ensuring that our urban areas are lit and clean. Therefore, we would wish that security should not be just left to the Government. It is incumbent upon each one of us to ensure that our own security is well catered for because security starts with oneself. You must ensure that your security is, first of all, ensured. We can do that by avoiding a lot of habits like moving around at night. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}