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"speaker_name": "Mr. Poghisio",
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"legal_name": "Samuel Losuron Poghisio",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is very disheartening sometimes, the way we do things in this country where one hand does not seem to co-ordinate well with the other hand. This is the political wing of relating to the EU. There is, of course, the Executive wing that goes on with the same thing. There is no way that we even have meetings. We should be having meetings with the relevant Ministers, especially when it comes to negotiating the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) or the European Development Fund (EDF). When we come back from these meetings, we do not have a comparison of notes. We do not get together to compare notes. That is what we should be doing! I, therefore, want to challenge the Ministers in charge of trade and planning so that we know what both hands are doing. Thank you for the challenge, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker. However, there is no formal way except for tabling the issues. Our role is to table these things on the Floor of the House and hopefully through that, we communicate with the Executive arm of Government. The main issues in this particular Report include tourism and that is a big thing for us. To know the thinking of the world today on tourism is important. It is good to read the Report, more so the resolutions. Some of the resolutions are attached but there are more documents which are not part of this Report. We should know what the thinking is so that we can adjust and tailor our tourism industry with what the world is expecting. It is, therefore, important that we do these things. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, just as a matter of cause the matter within tourism is affecting us. The critical issue is that it has become a place to even abuse young children in sex tourism. I think the Government needs to be alert about that. In the world today, there are people who come for tourism with other intentions. They should be watched so that they do not destroy our culture. Tourists are supposed to come and partake of what we offer them and design for them. However, they should not come and impose other cultural matters that are very unacceptable. We cannot accept some of the things that come that bring shame to the country. So, we need to be paying attention to what the world is thinking in terms of tourism. The other issue is on small arms and light weapons. The Report on small arms is very disheartening, in that every year, at least, half a million people are killed with small arms and light weapons. The issues to be raised should not be how; not mostly how we control the use of small arms and light weapons. It should be more on how we are holding the manufacturers of those weapons to account. How does a small man in the North Rift get hold of this light weapon or AK- 47? It is the manufacturers who make it possible for these weapons to be found in those places. April 11, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 563 We have no control of how they come in, although the Government can control it. Just like if you have an oil spillage in the ocean, you are held responsible for the mess and you clean it up. The manufacturers of these weapons need to be told to clean up their mess. They should actually be taxed so that these things are mopped out from our society. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think that some of the problems we are going through in terms of small arms and light weapons should be attributed to where they come from. There is no African country that manufactures these things. However, they are all over; this is the biggest market. So, who dumps them on the African Continent? Why are they not being held responsible? Why is our Government not taking that lead? We are the ones in this country who burn up these things. We light a bon-fire and throw the guns in it to burn. However, ever since we burnt them, I do not know how many lots now, somebody should tell us whether there is a reduction in numbers of the small arms and light weapons. I keep asking: \"How come it is only Kenya that lights the bon-fire?\" I do not see bon-fires in Uganda, Tanzania, the Sudan and the DRC. Are we trying to say that we are the end-user of all these small arms so that we are the ones who must burn them up? We must find a way of totally getting rid of the problem. The symbolising by burning up does not necessary cause us to look good at all. We must get to the root of the problem that brings small arms to destroy our people. It is not just destroying our people, but it is also beginning to destroy our national heritage. Poachers are beginning to emerge again. We can now see them destroy the rare species of wild animals that are good for our tourism. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of economic partnerships and agreements, I have already said that we are not doing enough to co-ordinate our efforts as a country. It is the same scenario when it comes to seeking aid from the European Development Fund (EDF). Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to take issue with the conflict hot spots of Africa. Throughout the discussion of this Report and the previous one, for the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) and the European Union (EU), the trouble spots embroiled in conflict are all found in the Great Lakes Region. The discussions in this Report touch on Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Northern Uganda. It appears to me that when it comes to dealing with conflicts and offering conflict resolutions within this region, it is really a priority. However, what are the root causes of these conflicts? Why are people not addressing issues of poverty, political discrepancies and the imbalances in the distribution of resources? Some of these small things are the ones that cause big problems. We must begin to study where we have gone wrong within our political class. Why is the Sudan having these problems even right after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of Southern Sudan? Now, there is conflict in Darfur. In Northern Uganda, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is battling it out with the Government and yet we cannot sort out that problem. I hope that the DRC, after the just concluded elections, will, probably, head in a more positive direction. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the countries I have mentioned surround Kenya. As much as we say that we are more peaceful than the rest of our neighbours, we must also realise that we are in the eye of a storm. We should become wary of the situation around us. We must be very alert to what is going on. The war in Somalia and Sudan should be very much our concern. Even the war that is going on in Northern Uganda should be discussed by this Parliament. The relevant Government organs must bring these issues to the fore so that we can get in touch with what is going on in Somalia. We need to get the latest information about what is going on in Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea. We need to make sure that our people in the rural areas are informed whenever they are in danger. These are some of the things one can garner from such a Report. So, when hon. Members do not read and understand the Reports or participate in debating them, they do not see the benefits of such Reports. It is also good to see how the European countries look at these issues so that our public servants in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Trade and Industry may know what to do. especially when we negotiate for EDF or Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). That way, 564 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 11, 2007 we can easily know what exactly they think about this region. Who finances the troubles within the Great Lakes Region? Who are these people who want to see these places burn up? We need to find out that. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we want to congratulate the African Union (AU) for having taken the lead to send peace-keeping forces to Somalia and Darfur. That is, indeed, a good trend that the AU has set. It is participating in the setting up of a peace-keeping force from within Africa to deal with African situations. That is something worth commending the AU for. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we talk a lot about our own small trouble spots within our country. What is happening in Mt. Elgon, the North Rift and different spots in this country are simply smaller cases unlike the ones that we have in other countries. We often see things spill out in a small-scale so, we must stem these small issues before they get out of hand. When a problem occurs, say, in Mt. Elgon, which is on the border with Uganda, there is a spill over to the neighbouring country. Let us not take these issues lightly. When are we going to say in this country that the death of one Kenyan is important to all of us? Where is that culture going to come from unless it is inculcated in us by this House? When we say that the disappearance of one Kenyan is important and that we cannot rest until we find that Kenyan---When we say that a Kenyan has been hijacked by Somalis - so many Kenyans have been victims of this, but life just goes on. We only hear when they disappear and when they come back. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker I think we need to develop a culture where we worry about the death of one Kenyan, say, from cholera in Sigor Constituency. Quite often we hear that there are deaths, say, of five, 10, 15 or 20 people. All we do is listen as a Kenyan dies after another and life for the rest of Kenyans goes on as if nothing has happened. After all we do not seem to care. When it comes to road accidents in this country, it is the same thing. We hear the number of deaths rise every day. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorists continue to die in large numbers on our roads. We keep getting the count all the time. However, we need to reach a point where the disappearance, suffering or death of one Kenyan means suffering to the rest of us. That is what the world has come to. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as a result of what goes on at the ACP-EU, some of us within the delegation of the ACP-EU, who come from the remote and arid areas have also started on the sides, a working group, just to monitor the resources that come to Kenya and ensure that they reach the remote and arid areas of this country. This has not always been the case. The distribution of resources in any country starts at the centre and goes outside in concentric circles of short distances, but the further you are from the centre, the most unlikely you will benefit from any of the resources of the country. So, these are the things that we need to begin to address as hon. Members in this House. Why is it that Kenyans, today, in Turkana District, North Pokot, West Pokot, East Pokot and other areas, have do depend on relief food? It is even made so well known that we take relief food to these areas. We call for food relief and invite the World Food Programme (WFP) to come and feed our people. These are our people. They belong to this country and, therefore, the cake belongs to them too. Why can we not simply share the same cake, that is, the resources of this country, in order to transform the lives of these suffering people? Why can we not transfer chunks of this cake to the northern part of this country in order to transform the lives of these people so that they do not feel like they are not part of us? The WFP is something external to us. It comes in to feed us and yet we are part and parcel of the people of this country who can feed themselves if only the Government could assist them. Why do we relegate members of our own society to the World Food Programme (WFP), the Red Cross and other external agencies, so that they feed and make them feel they are in trouble in their own country? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I believe that the goings-on at the ACP-EU Assembly should provide for us avenues to learn, so that best practices in various areas are transported back to our country. We should see that we translate them to useful policies in our countries. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I continue to be part of this delegation. I see that we April 11, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 565 will continue to bring these reports. As I asked my colleagues, I hope we will look at what the world sees. Let us adjust to these things. Let us negotiate for the interest of Kenyans. However, when we get these resources to the country, let us not keep them at the centre. Let us bring the rest of Kenya towards the centre. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am one of those who, for along time, proposed that the top leadership of this country needs to be brave. They need to cut off a chunk of this \"cake\" and move it to the north. Let the people there taste it. Let them become part and parcel of this country. I cannot end my contribution without talking about my constituency. Kacheliba Constituency got independence in 1970. Kenya, on the other hand, got her Independence in 1963. Uganda got independence in 1962. Kacheliba Constituency is the only area, within a country, that got its independence at a different time."
}