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"speaker_name": "Mrs. Mwendwa",
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"content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to support and comment on this Report. We have heard a bit from the other Members of the Pan African Parliament. Therefore, I will avoid repeating what they have said. The Leader of the delegation did actually comment on the negative issues which were raised by the African Peer Review Mechanism Group when it came to Kenya. However, I would like to dwell on the positive issues. The African Peer Review Mechanism Group leaders were invited to Kenya. In fact, they were invited by three countries. They included Kenya, Uganda and Burundi. They were impressed by our free primary education programme. Also, while they were here they did feel our democratic space which has been created in our country, of late. They did comment on the way our general elections had been conducted. They advised that, perhaps, Kenya should also advise other African countries on how general elections should be conducted. This is because elections are done very poorly in most African countries. I think Kenya was rated as one of the best. 1712 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 12, 2007 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the only thing which they commented negatively about Kenya - and which has not been mentioned by other hon. Members - was the fact that although our economy has grown by over 6 per cent, we have not reached anywhere near half our potential. This is because Kenya has got the capacity to develop at the same rate as South Africa and Egypt. So, we still have a long way to go, but we have the potential to grow. They also observed that we are moving in the right direction. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue which engages the Pan African Parliament everytime it meets is peace in Africa. This is because the African continent had got more strife than any other continent on earth. There is always war and a lot of insecurity in Africa. For example, the conflicts being experienced in Darfur, Ivory Coast, Somalia and many other countries in Africa have been of great concern. So, most of the time we send delegates to those countries to collect facts about the strife in different countries. As a result of this, you will find that the migration of people in Africa is more than anywhere else. We have more refugees in Africa than anywhere else in the world due to political conflicts. We also have immigrants who move from one country to the other in search of pasture and water. There are also those who move from one country to the other in search of job opportunities. As a result of this, the Pan African Parliament is considering the opening up of boundaries, so that people can move more freely for whatever reason. But, of course, it is of great concern that we have many political refugees in our countries. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, at the moment, the highlight of the Pan African Parliament is the move to speak with one voice and establish a united states of Africa. The name \"united states of Africa\" is not very much liked because it is almost similar to the United States of America (USA). Therefore, the preferred name is the federation of African States. However the problem which is being foreseen if the African states unite, is that every state would like to retain its sovereignty. In every country, the head of state, wants to remain in power. None of them is ready to give up power. However, if we have a federation where the heads of states work together in the fields of co-operation and development, maybe it will work. However, as we have seen, there will be a lot of challenges in forming the Federal States of Africa. It is very good that we have the Pan African Parliament (PAP) where we share issues of importance in Africa. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}