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"id": 218225,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Muturi",
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"speaker": {
"id": 215,
"legal_name": "Justin Bedan Njoka Muturi",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute on this very timely Motion. This Motion, as crafted, seeks to re-affirm the concept of affirmative action. If you read through the Motion, you will see that it is seeking that what has been done in this country since the June 13, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1751 advent of colonialism be reversed. The only way it can be done is through affirmative action. If you look through our history, the first missionaries came around the Coast Province, Shimo la Tewa and then went up-country to areas in Nairobi like Alliance, Lenana and the others. They, then, moved towards the Rift Valley Province. All the places where the missionaries settled, even in Nyanza and Western Province, those are the places where you find education has been taken seriously. Indeed, even in independent Kenya, allocation has gone to only those areas. In fact, the trend is like where the railway line followed. We have been told by some scholars that the trend was to divide the country into what the Europeans considered as \"useful Kenya\" as opposed to \"useless Kenya\". Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, what this Motion is urging the Government to do is to consider all parts of Kenya as useful, especially, when it comes to the allocation of monies or improvement of education facilities. Today, it is not uncommon to find one school in the so-called \"useful Kenya\" taking 100 students to the universities while a whole district in what has been described in some circles as \"useless Kenya\" taking only one or two students to the university. It is only through practising affirmative action by the Government that we will be able to see equity. We are saying and the Government has said that they are willing to set up centres of excellence. I think they need to begin in those marginalised areas. It is those areas where we need to see those centres of excellence being set up, first and foremost. Even in the areas where you find many Kenyans having gone to universities, again, the trend follows what the missionaries did. The places where the missionaries went first, those are the areas where education is most appreciated. However, you cannot condemn more than two thirds of the country to be useless. This Motion is asking the Government to put up more schools with more facilities in those marginalised areas. To show seriousness, they should go to Turkana, West Pokot, and, indeed, even come to Mbeere and put up schools with sufficient facilities as to be able to attract more children to education. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Motion is also urging the Government to consider ASAL districts in its budgetary allocation. I know that there is a small component in the bursary that addresses the issue of orphans. What this Motion is asking is that the Government now considers those Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL). It should put a component, within the bursary scheme, which addresses ASAL areas as distinct from the other considerations of \"bright and needy\". That is all that this Motion is asking. Finally, the Motion is urging that in order that - because we have seen the criteria and qualification for admission to universities has been rising - if you find a child in those marginalised areas with a B plus and you see the schools that they have been going to, I think there is need for them to be considered as special cases. If this is not happening, we are urging that the Government considers putting up public universities in those areas. This will ensure that children in those areas are able to benefit. Indeed, even wananchi ; the residents, will benefit from the existence of those public institutions. Where they exist, the benefits go beyond just education. They inspire other forms of economic growth. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, we are asking that since the Ministry has been telling us that it leads by example, and, indeed, even Budalang'i constituency is marginalised, granted the frequent floods, it needs this kind of affirmative action. We want the Ministry to consider some of these areas as marginalised. Let us not condemn, like our missionaries did, those areas which do not appear to be productive by way of producing cash crops. I want to end by saying that even though this Motion, merely, urges the Government--- we would want the Ministry to feel compelled by the import of the Motion to take whatever the Government is being asked to do and consider it not just as political posturing but, indeed, as very serious concerns. I know that the Minister himself comes from areas which in the past have been marginalised but may now be enjoying the lion's share of the cake. With those few remarks, I beg to support. 1752 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 13, 2007"
}