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"id": 216982,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/216982/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kagwima",
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"speaker": {
"id": 286,
"legal_name": "Francis Nyamu Kagwima",
"slug": "francis-kagwima"
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is an important Motion and it is good to listen to this. Those who have not contributed should prepare themselves to contribute to this Motion. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was talking about education. The infrastructure will go a long way, but the teachers should not bring in unnecessary levies. When that happens, education will be affordable in the country. You will note that we have very many children going to the neighbouring countries, more so, Uganda. Some of them are going to sub standard schools and others are going to universities that are not recognised. In many years to come, we will have people who have come from unrecognised universities. Those students will find it difficult to get jobs in this market. The funds we are spending on educating our children in those institutions will be a waste. We need to ensure that education in Kenya is affordable even in tertiary institutions, including universities. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, most important in this sector is the fact that we require adequate teachers. In the Budget, the Minister talked about recruiting 4,000 new teachers and 7,000 teachers to replace those who have left due to natural attrition. The figure of 11,000 teachers is nothing. It is peanuts compared to the required 40,000 teachers. I hope that we will recruit 20,000 teachers so that we are halfway. So, we want more liaison between the Minister for Finance and the Minister of Education to ensure that we do not churn out students with sub-standard education. We should not compromise the quality of our education. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to salute the Minister for Roads and Public Works. The Minister is practical. As you move round the country, you will see road repairs going on and also new roads. So, if this continues, as a country, we will improve our road infrastructure and we shall have more kilometres of tarmac. Therefore, this will accelerate the growth of our economy, especially if we can transport our goods to the market easily. The other issue I want to talk about is the project called International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). There is another fund called Mount Kenya East Pilot Project. These two projects are slow, sluggish and not transparent. IFAD is coming to a close after being around for over six years, but in those areas where it is involved, it has made no impact. Some of this money has come from donors. It is embarrassing for our country that it is short of money and yet when we get the money and the donors are saying--- At the end of this week, the funds from IFAD are going to be taken back to the donors and we shall continue to say that we do not have enough water. Money from IFAD was supposed to develop water and agriculture, which are very important sectors in our economy. At the end of the week the remaining funds will be taken back to the donors. I only hope that the Government will be able to negotiate for an extension so that the funds can be utilised. However, those in charge should be told that they are doing us a lot of disservice. When we cry that we want money and it is here with us, yet we do not utilise it; that is very bad. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Mount Kenya East Pilot Project has been around for two-and- a-half years. What we are seeing are training and seminars. The money is utilised in organising training and seminars. Probably, in another few years, we shall be hearing that donors are recalling their money. We have a kitty of about Kshs2 billion to be spent in the next four years. At this rate, we shall be talking of the money going back. So, we want to call upon the Ministers involved--- I am happy that the Minister for Water and Irrigation is here - I think the two funds fall under his Ministry. So, he needs to be hard on these people. It is not only in my area that we are experiencing this problem, but all over the country. Those people are not transparent. They are slow and things are not moving. Finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to this issue of security or insecurity, I am at a loss to know why some Kenyans have bitterness against their own people. Some people even go along roads to spray others with bullets. Unless there is something that we do not know, that is an expression of a lot of bitterness. As a country, we need to find out where this bitterness is June 27, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2113 coming from or what offence we have committed against those who are doing these things so that these issues can be addressed amicably. For somebody to do that, that is, taking the lives of other people indiscriminately without even worrying who is in the car, whether a relative or not, it is an expression of bitterness. I know that the police responded by shooting down a few people. But is that a solution? It is like an individual fighting another individual. It is like a group of people fighting another group where you have this group versus the police. I do not think we can have a long-term solution by just shooting down each other. We need intelligent people in the police or in other Government arms to ensure that we know the truth and then look for solutions. If there are people who are bitter because they are poor or they did not get something they expected, the matter should be addressed. If these are children of the Mau Mau and their fathers were not compensated, we need to talk to them. If they need to be compensated, let us do so rather than allow them to take people's lives. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those many remarks, I beg to support."
}