HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 213731,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/213731/?format=api",
"text_counter": 181,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Finance",
"speaker": {
"id": 174,
"legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
"slug": "amos-kimunya"
},
"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for that protection of my rights. Before the interruption, I was commending hon. Members for taking education very seriously, including the many hon. Members who are now attending university education. I believe it is in the firm conviction that ignorance is not good for this country. In addition to investments in infrastructure, I believe we need competent manpower not just for Kenya and the region, but, indeed, for the whole world. Kenya has set an example in terms of providing that manpower within the entire Southern Africa, East and Central Africa, Europe and the United States of America (USA). In those regions, we have seen Kenyans contributing to a better world through the education that they received here, and which they have finalised wherever they are. It is on that firm conviction that we have put education as our major expenditure item. It is a major component of the achievement of Vision 2030, whether we are looking at it from the three pillars of development. On the economic pillar, we want to accelerate our rate of economic growth from 6 per cent to 10 per cent by the year 2012. On the social pillar, we want a social, just and cohesive society living within a clean and secure environment. It is also critical to support our political pillar, where we want to move our politics from people-centred to issue-based and democratic political systems, away from the ethnic and polarised political systems that we are July 17, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2533 currently seeing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have a firm conviction that ignorance is a major hinderance to poverty eradication. It is only education that will really open the doors of opportunities for our people, especially the very poor people who need to be moved a couple of ranks up the ladder, so that they can participate in the economic development of this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we believe that ignorance is a major hinderance to democracy. I believe we can cite examples where our people, especially the youth, are constantly being paraded in political rallies and hypnotised to follow tribal leaders without asking where they are being taken to. We need to have educated Kenyans who will demand from those leaders and aspirants what programmes they have for them, what issues they stand for, and not just to be told that the singular intention is to remove the incumbent, whether we are talking about a councillor, an hon. Member of Parliament or a President. It is only by investing in education that we will actually liberate our people so that they can start asking those questions and looking at Kenya as Kenya, rather than Kenya made up of a few people who have no idea where they want to take us. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Kibaki Government is committed to ensuring that all the children in this country achieve their full potential, regardless of their economic background. Through the free primary education programme, we have seen the number of students increase substantially. We now have an extension where the Government will pay tuition fees in secondary schools. While we are at that, I feel I should clarify some misunderstanding brought about by some people who have been claiming credit for having initiated that programme. This is not in response to any promises made by an aspirant whether at the councillor, parliamentary or presidential levels, that they will actually provide free secondary education. That was actually part of a Government plan that was contained in a Sessional Paper that was debated in this House long before some of those aspirants declared their intentions to seek office. It is all part of a clearly articulated policy that says that, no child shall be denied their right to achieve their full potential on account of their parents being poor or not being able to support them. It is on that basis that bursaries have continued to be granted. Regulations are being sorted out to make sure that education is affordable. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all know that the future of this country will come when we kick ignorance out of the window. The poor will become richer without thinking that richness is wrong to seek. We can only do this when we have affordable education, both in public and private schools. There are incentives, even within the wider Finance Bill--- We will debate it later in this House. Those will ensure that private universities are assisted to make education facilities affordable. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need provision of facilities through Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). I would like to reiterate what the Minister has said. He has called upon hon. Members to synchronize the schools that they are putting up with the number of teachers that are available. That way, we will not have schools in every village with teachers scattered across, with some schools having classes of ten pupils. That is not conducive for learning because those children need to be provided with skills at an early point. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Government is committed and we are providing teachers. I believe the recruitment of 11,000 teachers is only the first batch. If, with hon. Members support, we are able to raise more taxes, we will be happy to increase those numbers, so that we can have the very best being given to our children at their formative stages. I also believe that this will call for political support in terms of oversight in our schools, organisations, parents associations, school boards and so on. I would like to thank hon. Members who have been very active in that. It is a collective duty for all of us, whether in terms of teachers, the Government providing the facilities, the parents providing the oversight and, at the political level, providing the political support that is required to motivate those children to take education seriously knowing 2534 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 17, 2007 that, it is only through that education that they will liberate themselves and prepare themselves as active participants within this new and emerging economy. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I said before, we are all supporters of education. In this House, we have seen the investments through CDF. We have seen the support and even the interest that hon. Members have on matters to do with education, whenever they come to the Floor of this House. I believe we shall equally support this Motion, bring out the very best and also raise the issues that need to be addressed, so that we can start taking those issues seriously. We know that education is a major expenditure item for this Government now, and in the future. Any lesson that we can pick up from this august House will help us to allocate resources even better, for the wider benefit of the future of this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to second."
}