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"id": 213199,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/213199/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Githae",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Transport",
"speaker": {
"id": 159,
"legal_name": "Robinson Njeru Githae",
"slug": "robinson-githae"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. This is a very important Motion. I would like to congratulate my friend; Mr. Jimmy Angwenyi, for coming up with it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is true that the NARC manifesto promised to create 500,000 jobs annually. However, these jobs were to come from all sectors; both the informal and formal. In fact, the sector that has created a lot of jobs is the informal sector. This is the sector that we really need to support. This is the sector that we need to put a lot of resources into, so that it creates more jobs. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is on record that for every 10,000 jobs created by the informal sector, the formal sector creates less than 500 jobs. So, it makes more economic sense to put more resources in the informal sector rather than the formal sector. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am supporting this Motion because we need to create employment. We are sitting on a time bomb. A time bomb of unemployment. A time bomb in the sense that when a large proportion of Kenyans see other people driving flashy cars and living in palaces, they get frustrated. So, we must come up with ways and means of protecting this vulnerable group. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when an economy is growing, like the Kenyan economy, the people who benefit most are middle class. In fact, it true that the middle class has 2598 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 18, 2007 expanded tremendously. However, so far, there are still some people in the lower sectors of the economy who have not been touched by the growth of economy. Therefore, we must come up with innovative ways of how they can benefit from the economic growth. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Government has increased the intake of police officers in an effort to one, increase the police force and also reduce unemployment. The government has also doubled the intake of Administration Police officers to increase their number and also reduce unemployment. The Government has also doubled the intake of soldiers in an effort to reduce unemployment. But those efforts must be complemented by the private sector. The private sector is not playing its proper role. It is just interested in declaring billions of profits instead of employing our youths. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Government has also, for the first time, said that it will employ 11,000 teachers. But that is a drop in the ocean. At the moment, according to the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), there is a shortfall of more than 50,000 teachers in both primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Whereas we appreciate that, I think more needs to be done. But that can only happen when people start paying their taxes. I think that is why His Excellency the President, whenever he gets an opportunity, exalts Kenyans to pay their taxes. There is a number of rich Kenyans who are not paying their taxes. I think it is high time that Kenyans started seeing where their taxes are being taken. It is important that we preach to all Kenyans that they start paying their taxes. Everybody should pay taxes regardless of whether you are a farmer or a pastoralist. Everybody should pay taxes. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we also need to come up with innovative ways to deal with the rural roads. There was a time when we had a programme of repairing rural roads using manual labour. I think we need to go back to those policies. The rural roads should be done manually, so that Kenyans and youths could be employed. It is unfortunate that the good plans that the Nairobi City Council had formulated were not followed. If you look at the master plan for the Nairobi City Council, you will see that there was to be a market in every estate. There was to be a market in Westlands, which I understand was grabbed. There was to be a market in almost all the new suburbs; in Buruburu, Karen, Runda and all the other places. But, unfortunately, most of those markets were grabbed. That is why you find people who would, otherwise, be selling their items in those markets flocking to the City Centre. I am glad the President has now started that programme of constructing markets in all the suburbs. I understand that plans are at an advanced stage to construct a huge market at Muthurwa, where more than 10,000 hawkers will be given stalls to sell- --"
}