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"id": 216923,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Nyachae",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Roads and Public Works",
"speaker": {
"id": 342,
"legal_name": "Simeon Nyachae",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to make a few remarks on this subject which is before us. I think it is very important that when we are debating the Budget, we take into account the fact that Kenyans look upon us to give contributions that will assist the Minister for Finance and the other Ministers who are managing the funds that have come from the taxpayers. They expect our contributions to be worthwhile. Mr. Speaker, Sir, listening to statements from hon. Members in this House, quite clearly, we are pushing ourselves to a direction where we will end up as grumblers; leaders who come here and say nothing good about the utilisation of the funds that taxpayers pay. We only come here to June 27, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2103 complain and yet one sees so many services being rendered out there. It is always true that there is no area of our lives where everything is perfect and complete. We should give encouragement and say that this has been done and we need the following also to be done. However, to be sitting here as hon. Members, employees of the Kenyan taxpayers and we only come here to complain, I think it is just not what is expected of us. Mr. Speaker, Sir, having said that, I would like to mention something about insecurity in the nation. I think, much as we, who are on the Government side, are very concerned about the security which is worrying everybody in the country, we need help from everyone and each Kenyan. When we start talking about our youth some of who we call Mungiki and so on, the truth of the matter is that these are not people who have fallen from the sky. These are people born among us. They live with us in our villages and they do not live in forests. They live in villages where we also live. Mr. Speaker, Sir, for us, who come from those villages, to pretend that we do not know what is going on, is cheating Kenyans. We should be feeling concerned. Sometimes I feel very disappointed when I see hon. Members complaining about the security personnel. Those who complain come from the same areas where these problems are. What contribution have such hon. Members made apart from complaining against the police? What contribution have they made apart from complaining against the Ministry in charge? The hon. Members come from the same villages. What have they done to help? This is a responsibility of parents as well as that of leaders. It is a responsibility for all of us. All that we are now doing is to use guns, and we are very busy reporting. Almost every three hours, the radio stations tell us: \"So many gangsters have been shot down somewhere and three of them have died. Four gangsters died in such and such an area. Ten gangsters died last night.\" What is it that you are telling us? Are you telling us that we are unable to solve the problem ourselves, and that we are only looking for ways of just shooting to kill? How many people are you going to kill in order to deal with this problem? We are told that some of these youngsters are in their hundreds. Now, are you going to shoot all those hundreds of youths in order to solve the problem? We need to look into this matter, review our positions and take it upon ourselves that we are all responsible for sorting out this problem. Mr. Speaker, Sir, these days, if a member of a family goes out, I keep on monitoring through the mobile to find out whether she is all right, because you never know what could happen on the way, until somebody comes back into the house. Even while in the House, if a dog runs around the compound, you start wondering whether some thugs have come into your compound. Now, are we, really, going to say that we are going to live in a society where we are all feeling insecure? We had better think about these matters. I have seen some hon. Members of this House come here and tell us that they were either abducted, or whatever happened; they went somewhere and there was some oath-taking. When the issue is followed up, they start giving us other stories. That is not straightforward leadership. If you start a story, then tell the truth about what you know and what you do not know. So, as far as I am concerned, that is not leadership. Let us talk about whatever else we complain about. We complain about agriculture and what the Ministry is doing out there. We, Members of Parliament, come from those rural areas, where agriculture is practised. Some of us are in a position to attend the District Agricultural Committees. What contribution do you make when you attend District Agricultural Committee meetings? Do you have to complain to the Minister here? Is he going to sit in your home district and in your constituency to correct things? What contribution have you made yourself in order to strengthen the Minister's role? It is important that we also play our roles. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I hear some hon. Members coming here to complain about roads. They say that the District Roads Engineers in their home districts have been allocated money but they have not done certain things. There is no money which is given to District Roads Engineers. The 2104 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 27, 2007 money allocated to the District Roads Committees is there. The District Roads Engineer is only a technical man. He is there to advise the District Roads Committee. I would like to know an hon. Member who is not a member of his home District Roads Committee. How do you become a member of the District Roads Committee and you do not do anything there such as raise issues and only come here to grumble? For those of us who have been given the privilege to manage whatever portfolio we have been given, if you give me genuine evidence, I will take action. We do not condone weaknesses. We do not condone deviation or wastage of funds. People just come here to complain without giving any evidence, and I just listen and wonder whether I should bother the Speaker by raising points of order. So, I say: \"All right; you go on wagging your tongue until you finish\". It is of no value for you to come here and complain about a matter that was discussed at your District Roads Committee. You see that the District Roads Engineer is not doing his work, but you do not talk to him, and then you come here to complain. What do you expect me to do? Mr. Speaker, Sir, let us face it. Even on the question of managing the Budget, let us understand that taxation is not a very pleasant thing for any one. It is not a pleasant thing for me to pay taxes. When the Ministry concerned allocates the monies collected, it must take into account the priorities of Kenyans. It is not, simply, a matter of saying: Money is available. We can now allocate it in this or that manner for either political expediency or whatever. Let us look at what is needed. Agriculture needs more money. Health needs more money. Roads need more money. Security needs more money. So, the money collected should be utilised in the right way. However, sometimes you find that money is allocated in such a manner that, I am told, I cannot get it. I find it very difficult to utilise some of the money I am given, when I know that it is inadequate. Even if I give out a tender, it is going to be a non-starter. So, we need to help one another. All that I am appealing is that our colleagues at the Treasury, in future, could they take a bit of time to consult and assess the priorities before they come here and give us their story?"
}