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"id": 214782,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Mwendwa",
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"legal_name": "Winfred Nyiva Mwendwa",
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"content": "huts in Garissa and Kitui, with all the heat in semi-arid areas, and the officers are supposed to sleep there. The wages we pay our police force, and even the Administration Police, are very low. So, among the things which should be improved, together with their housing, is their wages. Since I had the privilege of having a police officer, as an hon. Member, one of the few things that I was amazed to find out is that when it comes to the Christmas month, they are not paid then but are paid the following month, because if they are paid, they will drink. Maybe this is so, but I always think of their families. If they are not paid at Christmas time, what do their families do? On top of that, these officers do not even stay with their families. They normally wait until January or February to go for leave. I would like to tell the Minister that, that is inhuman. It is normal and it makes sense for every family to spend Christmas together, especially if their father is working. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to raise the issue of compensation or death gratuity paid to the families of both our regular police officers and the Administration Police officers who die in the line of duty. This takes very long. In some cases, since our officers do not live with their families, most of the widows do not know where to seek help. They are afraid, especially if they live and work in the countryside as teachers, to visit the offices where they should seek their dues. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to plead with the Minister to ensure that the process of compensation is enhanced so that those widows do not have to come all the way to Nairobi to seek compensation. I am sure that the process can be enhanced in a way that beneficiaries can be paid from where they are. I am sure that the process can be worked out so that those widows can be paid from wherever they are so that children do not stop going to school. This will also ensure that families do not suffer more than necessary, after losing their spouses. I will now turn to the issue of the Provincial Administration. The word \"Government\" or \" Serikali \", to most ordinary wananchi refers to the Provincial Administration. That is what the ordinary wananchi see with their eyes. Therefore, I recommend that our sub-chiefs, chiefs and District Officers (DOs) should be trained properly on how to handle issues that concern wananchi . The Provincial Administration has to deal with wananchi regarding land issues and other small 2456 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 11, 2007 matters. I, therefore, recommend that the personnel working under the Provincial Administration be trained properly. Their wages have been improved of late and, therefore, I will not touch on that matter . Previously, we used to have very good offices for the Provincial Administration, especially during the colonial times. When you visited a chief's office, you would realise that it was, actually, a chief's office. When you visited a DO's office, you would also realise that it was a proper DO's office. From the time we started building them on Harambee basis, you will realise that their standards have gone down. I think we should have standard chiefs' offices and standard DOs' offices. At the moment, we do not have standard offices for chiefs and DOs. If they are there, then they are not in my constituency, but we need them. Previously, wananchi used to raise funds and build them but since we do not do that today, I think resources to build those offices should be included in our Budget. I am sure that we would all support that because these offices are very helpful and are needed by wananchi . Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, while I am still on the issue of DOs, I recommend that we have vehicles in every division for the DOs. It is not proper for us to have a DO stuck somewhere in a division because he has no means of transport to move around, or because he uses"
}