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"id": 217638,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/217638/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. Mwau",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development",
"speaker": {
"id": 360,
"legal_name": "Adelina Ndeto Mwau",
"slug": "adelina-mwau"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand to support the Budget Speech. I would like to congratulate the Minister. This was a very well done job. I want to say that the truth must be told that Kibaki's administration has done a wonderful job for the last four years. Roads are being constructed. The Machakos-Nairobi Road is being constructed. The Mlolongo section which has been a headache for some of us who use that road on a weekly basis is actually being constructed and we hope that it will soon be completed. I want to say that for the fact that there is a big chunk of money going to the roads, education and to health, it shows that it is a Budget that is mindful of the poor. With good roads, communication will be easy and the economy is going to grow. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the 11,000 teachers that are going to be employed is a very welcome idea. If you go to many schools, you will find that classrooms have over 60 or 80 pupils. Therefore, special attention cannot be given to individual children if a teacher is teaching over 60 pupils in a class. The question of teachers being paid their final salary instalment that had been promised by the former Government is also welcome. The relief of taxes from the pensioners- -- Although I do not know how many pensioners get more than Kshs20,000. May be there is need for increasing pensioners' money so that they could live an honorable life. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to say that money for health needs should be considered. We actually need to have machines that can do tests for all diseases in every district hospitals. You will find that many district hospitals and health centres refer people to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and yet the distance from there to KNH is quite big. So, the Government needs to think seriously on how to increase the health Budget so that more health workers and nurses can be employed. June 20, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1961 The free primary education has helped. In the last four years, there has been an influx of pupils to schools. Therefore, we are actually seeing an increase of students in secondary schools. So, the waiver on tuition is a welcome idea. As our economy grows, we need to take a further step and try to see how we can increase the amount of tuition to be relieved for parents. The Kshs3,500 is on the lower side, although it is a welcome idea. So, as we move towards an economy that is strong, we need to look at how to make secondary school education free and how to increase the Budget on health. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Women Development Fund is something that women in this country are celebrating. As an hon. Member who spoke before me said, we need to bring a policy paper in this House to discuss how that money is going to be disbursed. There is need for training those women who are going to apply for the loans. There is need for capacity building for the women so that they can be able to identify projects or businesses that are viable. If you go to the rural areas, you find that most women are doing the same businesses. Therefore, there is need for capacity building for them, so that they can do alternative businesses. But the Kshs2 billion is a very welcome idea for the women. We hope that this is going to empower women to get into the mainstream economy and for them to be able to get contracts on roads, electricity and to move out of the informal to the formal sector. As we move, it is important for us as a Government to find out why women are not in the mainstream economy. Those loans that women are going to access are going to move them out of the informal to the formal sector. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, electricity is crucial in this country, particularly to secondary schools. All students in this country can be computer literate and access their mails. I want to congratulate the Ministry of Energy because you can see that some work has been done. Places that we never thought in Kaiti Constituency will have electricity, are now lighted. I want to cite Kikoko Market, Thomeandu Secondary School, Kalongo Market, Kauti Polytechnic and Kauti Secondary School. You can see that some work is actually being done. It is important for the Ministry of Energy to check, assess, and monitor the contractors so that work is done. For example, the project that we have in Kaiti Constituency has been there for one and a half years. Contractors are not doing anything. So, it is important for the Ministry to make sure that they monitor and follow up so that work is done. As I conclude, I would like to say that the recruitment of more police officers is very crucial. We need to have enough policemen in every location, because insecurity in this country has increased, due to high levels of unemployment and poverty. We need to emphasize the need for community policing in this country. There is need for the police and communities to work together, so that we can end organized gangs, like the Mungiki and Taliban, which are spreading terror in this country. However, as we employ more police officers and teachers, it is important that we ensure that one-third of those who are being employed are women. I hope that we will come up with a policy that will ensure that this happens, in line with the President's directive. I am not sure that as we carry out recruitment, we ensure that one-third of those who are recruited are women. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Budget Speech and congratulate the Minister for a job well-done. The benefits of this Budget will trickle down to the poor. I would like to say that this Government is coming back, wapende wasipende. I beg to support."
}