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"id": 226819,
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"speaker_name": "Eng. Toro",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Roads and Public Works",
"speaker": {
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"legal_name": "Joshua Ngugi Toro",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion, and also congratulate Ms. Abdalla for bringing this Motion, which seeks to create an Authority to deal with drug abuse. I totally agree with her that the National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA), which has no legal authority although it is supposed to deal with drug abuse, has not been able to succeed in many ways. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we talk about drug abuse, some people might think that it may be the preserve of the poor. That is because when we go to the rural areas, we find that bhang and kumi kumi are consumed there. But, as far as drug abuse is concerned, no one is spared, from the top to the bottom. Those with enough money go for hard drugs, which are more expensive. Those with little money go for cheap drugs. But the effect is the same - the destruction of our youth. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, recently, the Government launched the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF). Eventually, that Fund will be increased. It will be a very sorry state of affairs in Kenya when the money is there for the youth but they cannot use it. Drug abuse in Kenya is not for the illiterate. Drug abuse is prevalent among the young people who have gone beyond Form IV. In secondary schools, there is not much drug abuse. The people whose welfare the YEDF wants to improve are those in their 20s and early 30s, who are susceptible to drug abuse. Those are the people with the brains. Once somebody partakes of drugs, it does not matter how bright they are. They end up being \"cabbages\". Any attempts to show them how to create wealth will be useless. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, maybe, the Mover might want to consider a proposal because I do not want to propose an amendment at this stage. Since NACADA has been in existence and many people in Kenya are aware of it, she should consider having a NACADA Authority Bill instead of giving it another name. The effect will be same. If we could move from the known, people might appreciate what this Bill is all about. If we give it another name, it will take time for people to realise the impact of the proposal by the hon. Member. However, if she considers, before the close of the debate, to use the name that Kenyans know--- NACADA has been trying against all odds to fight drug abuse, but it has failed. If it can be given \"teeth\" through an Act of Parliament, it will be a good idea instead of using another name. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, while formulating the Bill, because I am sure we will pass this Motion, the proposed Bill should address one critical issue; that of law enforcement. We pass Bills here and we end up looking like we have failed. Once a Bill is assented to by His Excellency the President, it becomes an Act. The enforcement of that Bill is another issue. The police have failed to enforce various laws that are in existence. It is not because we do not have laws as the Mover has said. We have other laws, even some which can be used to curb drug abuse. But the enforcement of such laws needs to be addressed in this particular Bill. Do we entrust the current Police Force to enforce this law, if it becomes effective? Do we create, in the Bill, a special force to deal with drug abuse? 534 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 11, 2007 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when Mr. Syongo was seconding this Motion, he said that we might not succeed where America and Britain have failed. As Kenyans, let us not underestimate ourselves. We can also show Britain, America and the West that we can also succeed where they have failed. I do not agree with the Seconder that we have lost control. We can tell Americans and the West that Kenya can succeed. That is what we should aim at. That is what I would like to request the Mover to do. She should ensure success where other countries have failed. These countries can then come to Kenya and learn from us. We do not have to keep on learning from them. This is why we are failing. Let them also come and learn from us, that we are succeeding where they have failed. So, these are the issues that the Mover should be able to address on the success of fighting drug abuse. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have all been moved by cases where people have died and some have become blind after taking illicit alcoholic drinks like kumi kumi and kuonambee . All these drinks are drugs in the form of alcohol. So, the Bill should also address the time when alcohol stops being for human consumption and becomes a drug. This is because we need to differentiate between the normal alcohol which is drunk by some of us in moderation and which is harmless and the one that is taken, but destroys the human mind, sight, et cetera . That should come out clearly in the Bill. We have manufacturers of various types of alcoholic drinks. We know that they hide behind the law and they cannot be prosecuted. This has been tried even in Central Kenya and parts of Eastern Province, where the Provincial Administration had even moved to withdrew licences from the suppliers and retailers of these alcoholic drinks, but these people went to court. In turn, the courts had no powers to enforce the orders of the Provincial Administration because there is no law that specifically tells the courts what they should do. So, these are the issues that should be addressed in the Bill, to give the police and the Provincial Administration powers to confiscate anything that is destructive to the youth or human beings. Right now, we do not have it and this why the National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) has also failed. This is where police have also failed. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, these are very weighty issues for this country because the way we are going, everybody will be subject to destruction by these drugs. As I said in the beginning, nobody will be spared. When our children go out, they meet their peers in clubs and entertainment joints and they end up being introduced to hard drugs. It starts by them experimenting since they are excited, but then one thing leads to the other. Before you realise it, you find your son or daughter is already taking the hard drugs. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also sympathise with young ladies because some naughty people lace their drinks with some substances without their knowledge and eventually we find innocent ladies being introduced to drugs against their will or their knowledge. So, these are the issues that we need to address. As the Mover said, there is nowhere in Kenya where we can address the issue of rehabilitation of drug addicts and alcoholics. Once we establish those centres, then we will be able to address certain issues that are already in existence when trying to prevent other cases from occurring. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}