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{
"id": 217924,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/217924/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Konchella",
"speaker_title": "The Minister of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons",
"speaker": {
"id": 322,
"legal_name": "Gideon Sitelu Konchella",
"slug": "gideon-konchella"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I wish to support the Budget June 19, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1887 by the Minister for Finance. As we all know in the last four years this Government has put the economy of this country on the path of recovery. As seen from this Budget, the economy has been put in the next phase which is that of growth. When we talk of Vision 2030, it is a vision for the people of Kenya. This means the Government that will be in power next year, and for the next 20 years, must ensure that the economy grows for the benefit of our children and grand children. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the pillars that are seen and all Kenyans appreciate are now in place. One of these pillars is education. Our levels of literacy have moved from 60 per cent to 70 per cent of our population. We expect this to rise to about 90 per cent. A country like Zimbabwe, which has problems, has very high literacy levels. With the high level of literacy, Kenyans will be informed and make informed decisions. They will not be swayed or cheated by those who want to use them for their missions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, those communities that were marginalised by the colonial Government and the two successive regimes must now be assisted to get education. We want to empower them. I am happy as we move towards realising the Vision 2030 a lot of funding will go to the development of Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL). We believe that every community has the ability to pay taxes. There is no community in this country which is not able to pay taxes. All they need is empowerment. Therefore, I am glad that the Government has seen this. It is encouraging to see this Government will infect more revenue in the coming years to improve the lives of our people, so that they get into the tax-paying bracket. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, one disappointing area that I might have to mention is that, while other sectors like that of coffee and others have been supported, I expected the Minister to think about re-stocking livestock for the families that lost their livestock to drought. Many families today are paupers because they lost their cattle. I hope and still request the Minister to consider this and ensure that funds are allocated to livestock farmers, so that impoverished families can recover. This is the only way for their survival. They are able to survive only if supported by the Government to kick-start their lives once again. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other pillar is that of agriculture. Here, I only want to talk about the sugar sector. My district is one of those that produce sugar cane. Indeed, we are getting the economic advantage of having a cash crop like sugar cane in Trans Mara District. However, the issue of COMESA is very worrying. Unless the Government and the Minister take care of the Kenya sugar producers, these people will suffer. Imagine about six million people losing their means of livelihood. We do not want to see them suffer. So, we, as a Government, must come up with a policy for us to assist them. I urge this House to think very seriously whether we should go the COMESA way or say \"no\" to it. This is because our people will suffer. I believe that we are part of the wider community and want to live with our neighbours. However, there are ways the Government must protect our farmers. We all know that the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) collects a lot of money from these levies. I believe there is a lot of money in their accounts, this should be ploughed back to farmers. A factory like South Nyanza (SONY) Sugar Company needs about Kshs3 billion or Kshs2 billion to buy new crashers and create the capacity to crash 7,000 tonnes per day. That would be enough to sustain it even with COMESA around. I urge this House to seriously address this issue. It is a very serious problem for those of us from those areas. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other pillar of development is security. Security is so crucial for a developing country like Kenya. If we want to realise our vision, we must improve on our security situation. Let us treat each other as brothers and sisters. The law should be very strict on those who want to destroy other people's livelihood, economy, survival or take away their property. The law should punish those trying to destroy means of the livelihood of other people. We all know 1888 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 19, 2007 that has been happening in Nairobi, Mt. Elgon and other parts of the country. In my district, there are elements of people who are causing insecurity to ensure that certain communities are chased away, so that they do not vote in the next general elections. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have taken a lot of liberty as the Minister of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons to give Kenyans Identity Cards. Indeed, now we are producing these cards at the rate 40,000 per day. This should enable many Kenyans who have been de-enfranchised for a long time by the previous Government to take part in electing leaders of their choice. This is the commitment by this Government. I am happy that the Government is supporting us to make sure that we deliver on the promises to Kenyans. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of empowerment is one area which my colleagues know that this Government has achieved through its budgets. There is empowerment in terms of the Youth Development Fund and now, there is the Women Development Fund. Next year, students in secondary schools will not be paying tuition fees. This is aimed at having more money in the hands of Kenyans, so that they can invest and improve their lives. This is very important because some of the communities like those in rural areas in ASAL cannot attend school. They need certain facilities like boarding schools where some of the students can stay and be fed. This is necessary because some times there could be drought. We grow large quantities of wheat in Narok District. Since our people keep large heads of livestock, this Government needs to empower them so that they fully participate in the economy of this country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of roads is a very crucial matter. I appreciate the Government's effort of constructing roads in various parts of this country. I am happy because the Kisii-Kilgoris Road is being constructed. I would urge the Minister to also look for some funds and tarmac a stretch of 10-kilometre rural road that traverses a very productive area. This is something I feel very bad to speak about because we have a right just like any other Kenyans, to have good roads. We can produce and support this economy like any other community. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am also happy because the Narok-Maai Mahiu Road is under construction. I urge the contractor to move very fast and complete this road as scheduled. They are not doing a very good job. I do not know whether they will complete it in time. The problem here is the rural access roads. You cannot access farms in remote areas of Trans Mara District because most roads have been washed away. There has been lot of destruction to the forest. I want the Government to consider this very seriously because we need to do a lot of reafforestation. We also need to construct rural access roads to enable our people to transport their produce to the market. Farmers in remote rural areas grow a lot of food, but they are not able to transport it to the market. This is where I want to ask, particularly the Minister of Roads and Public Works to ensure that when he brings his budget in this House, we want to see a lot of money allocated for the rural roads and not just the major highways, which are already being done. A lot of money should go to the rural roads so that farmers are able to take their produce to the market. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also wish to talk about the infrastructure, especially telecommunications and support the Government's efforts in the last few years to develop this very crucial sector. I have in mind the fibre cable which is now getting to our districts awaiting the major cable from the international waters to reach our place. A society that is ICT educated is going to support this economy. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support."
}