HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 222045,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/222045/?format=api",
"text_counter": 258,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Khamasi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 300,
"legal_name": "Daniel Lyula Khamasi",
"slug": "daniel-khamasi"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me a chance to support this Bill. While I do so, I think that I have a few comments to make with regard to several Ministries. As I can see in this Bill, the Minister is seeking an additional Kshs19 billion to be authorised by this House. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to start with Vote R11, Ministry of Health. The Ministry is requiring more money, but we still lack personnel in most of the facilities that are available. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a Ministry that requires much more money. Recently, we learnt that the Minister for Health was looking forward to providing free maternity services, and yet, the facilities that are available in health centres like the maternity wards that have been built using the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) are not manned. One wonders why we should not look at a situation where we can have more personnel in those facilities so that we could provide the necessary services that are required. Recently, we had a Question here regarding the identity cards (IDs) being held by referral hospitals. We got an unsatisfactory answer and there was a Motion raised on it later on and it ended up without any reasonable conclusion. One wonders why the Government has allowed ID cards of citizens of this country to be held as a security by the hospitals. Some ID cards have been held for several years. It is a matter that this Ministry needs to address very fast so that ID cards are released as they serve no purpose being held by the Ministry. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to speak about the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. We must control our waters. First of all, there is very little harvesting of water that is done in this country, if there is any. There is very little harvesting of water and when there is plenty, there is no reasonable control and that is why down the stream, like in Budalangi there is a lot of damage being caused due to heavy rainfall. We need a very firm policy where the waters are controlled and harvested for irrigation. We have a lot of land in this country and if all that water was harvested and properly nurtured, we could get a reasonable harvest to produce enough food so that we do not beg for food during the time of shortage. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding the co-operative societies - I have seen that it is among the issues in the Supplementary Estimates - they play a very major role in our economy. I believe that it is the responsibility of this Ministry to make sure that the wealth spreads all over the country. These co-operative societies are concentrated more in one place. If you go outside Central Province, very little is spoken of co-operative societies and I think it is the responsibility of that Ministry, as much as they are asking for more money, to think of how they could spread and help people to form more co-operative societies to help them economically. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will continue praising the Ministry of Energy and encouraging them on the strategies that they have put in place. This is a Ministry that is being seen virtually in every constituency. I also want to congratulate the Ministry of Energy. We would like to see much more of you in many other places where you have not reached. Regarding the Ministry of Education, again, it is the only Ministry asking for more money than all the other Ministries, and the reasons are very well understood. They are asking for close to Kshs2 billion. This is because we are increasing the salaries of teachers. This is a promise we made and I think that it is good that we must fulfil it and I must congratulate the Government for doing that. In the same vein, I must also request the teachers to appreciate what the Government has done. Let us get a pay-back for this particular gesture from the Government. Having said that, there is a lot of shortage of teachers and it is worrying. We must plan on how to increase teachers in our schools. We are now going to embark on free tuition in secondary schools and, therefore, the 1320 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 15, 2007 enrolment will definitely increase. Are we getting ready for that enrolment? Most of the primary schools will now become secondary schools because the cost of taking a child to secondary school will be reduced. Are we really getting ready for it or are we just waiting to cross the bridge when we reach there? We should not be talking about crossing the bridge when we reach it. We should be planning. We want to see a policy paper here to tell us exactly what the Government will put in place to cope with the increased enrolment in secondary schools. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is your own \"baby\" about the certificates that are being held in secondary schools. It does not help at all and you have continuously stated so. I do not know how much revenue the certificates which are held in secondary schools by head teachers are giving those schools. Some certificates have been held for over ten to 15 years. It is high time the Government came up and told the head teachers to release those certificates. I want to comment on the Ministry of Information and Communications. I do not know whether the Minister is here, but I think this message can reach him. There is an abuse of our national radio, particularly on programmes being managed by some of the radio announcers. They are just promoting political figures on the radio. It is high time this was checked because the taxpayers money is being used in promoting certain individual candidates in certain areas. That is not being done for nothing. I think there is exchange of money for this to be done. We need a check on this. I do believe that the Minister will do something about it. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), I do not know why they are asking for more money. There is conflict between KACC and the Office of the Attorney-General. We do not know who is who. We do not know who is doing what. We do not know who is serving who and that is why we have seen very few prosecutions in this country, and if there is any, it drags on for ages until we forget about it. So, it is very important that KACC and the Office of the Attorney-General get their acts right so that they can work together for us to reduce corrupt practices in this country. The Ministry of State for Special Programmes which is responsible for funds that come in for aid is a forgotten issue. I do hope that I still have a few minutes. The Constituency AIDS Committees (CACs), which were started some years back, are almost dead, because the monies which were supposed to go through them are no longer coming in, and the little that came in was done on a discriminatory basis, because not all constituencies actually benefited from those funds. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I believe that my colleagues will want to comment on other issues, but on the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs, I think we have started wrongly. I think they want more money, and it is high time they got their act right, because in very many areas even the policy or procedure to be followed by those youth out there is not very clear. Officers have been posted to the field and nobody knows where they are. They are not actually communicating with the public. So, it is necessary that this Ministry, which looks after the youth, and is availing funds for the youth, ensures that this money gets to the right people, in the right manner and in a fair manner, so that it is properly distributed to every person. We should not have only a few agencies concentrated in one place to deal with these funds. These funds must be available to everybody everywhere in this country. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}