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"speaker_name": "Prof. Maathai",
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"content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Bill. I want to begin by thanking the Minister and congratulating her for bringing this Bill to the House. As the Minister said, this Bill is, indeed, a Bill which many of us have been waiting to see brought in this House. We have been waiting to see a situation where there is a legal mechanism that will support a multi-party system in our country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all remember that, when we became Independent in 1963, we started as a multi-party democracy. But, somehow, we lost our way and we eventually became a one-party system and, indeed, a dictatorial system that so many of us fought for so many years to overcome. We should, therefore, congratulate ourselves for having come this far and being able to discuss this Bill and embrace competitive politics in our country. We want to thank the Minister for embracing many of the contributions that have been made in the course of the evolvement of this Bill, and also embracing many of the concerns which have been raised, especially the ones contributed by the civil society in the course of the many discussions and eventual breaking down of the one party system that we used to have. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, good governance is good for all of us. Indeed, as we cultivate a culture of good governance in our country through this Bill, it will be good for every Kenyan and for all of us if we embrace good governance, democracy, responsibility, accountability and all the other values that we talk about here and which have been mentioned by the Minister and, indeed, by the Leader of the Official Opposition. These are very important values if we are, indeed, serious about multi-party democracy. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, having many political parties is not equal to having democracy. Democracy does not necessarily mean that we ought to have development. Whether we have a one party system or a multi-party system, it is very important for us to know that, much more important, are the responsibilities that leaders embrace. So, we should conduct ourselves within the rules of the game. Therefore, what we approve or embrace in this Bill is what we shall practise when we go to the field. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as the Leader of the Official Opposition has said earlier, there has been a lot of frustration, both in the course of developing and practising competitive multi-party politics in the House. But at the same time, we did not have the rules and regulations to control the politics within that multi-party politics. So, many of us are extremely happy and would like to encourage the Minister to continue bringing in the nitty-gritties that will ensure that we, indeed, have multi-party politics that will ensure that both the Government and the Opposition are nurtured. Unless we nurture the Opposition, it is very easy to eventually disintegrate or go back to the one party system that we used to have before. We cannot have a strong democracy if we do not have an opposition. We must have an Opposition that will hold the Government to accountability."
}