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"speaker_name": "Mr. Lesrima",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. I want to begin by congratulating our delegation to the African, Caribbean, Pacific-European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly - ACP-EU (JPA). In particular, may I congratulate my friend, Mr. Kamotho for being elected as Vice-President to the Bureau. I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate our staff at embassies in the various locations where these meetings are held. In this Report, it is indicated that, in fact, there was not much Government co-operation in terms of preparation for these meetings. I quite agree with it because I recall as a representative of KANU then, it was very difficult for me to get information from public servants because they viewed me as an Opposition person. They forgot that some of the guys hiding information there in the Ministries were actually my juniors when I was in public service. They also forget that when we go to represent our country out there, we are not going out there as political parties. I was a bit saddened that I was dropped by my party, KANU when I joined the Government on the excuse that the Government could not have two representatives. In meetings out there, you even have Ministers attending meetings jointly with hon. Members. In one case, I recall one Caribbean country had a Vice-President. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issues that are discussed there are issues of international importance affecting nations' relationships and trade. Therefore, I would urge the Government departments, particularly, National Development and Planning or the Treasury, which houses the European Development Fund (EDF) desk--- There is a European Commission (EC) desk there - and, in fact, the Permanent Secretary is also the national authorising officer for the purposes of accounting for the monies that are released through the European Union (EU). It is important that the Government works very closely with the two hon. Members who form the delegation. I would like to say here that it is not possible, in terms of logistics and sitting arrangements, April 10, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 485 in this Parliament to provide for a leader of the delegation and one more seat for an alternate hon. Member. It is usually very crowded and difficult for members of staff; the Ambassador and the supporting staff to sit. I think this is also to do with the rules of this particular JPA. However, having said so, if information is shared--- We do this now through presentation of this highly summarised report which I think is not adequate. It would be good if there was an opportunity for joint briefing on issues to do with economic, partnership agreements, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and even the EDF. If this information was shared with the public and Parliament, we would all stand to benefit. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir,it is true that concern was shown that parliament involvement is minimal, not just the Kenyan Parliament, but of course the ACP parliaments. It is important that Parliament is properly briefed and the public informed on the impact of these negotiations. This will ensure that as we enter a new phase in January 2008, our farmers are able to know what goods they can sell in Europe. They should also know what sanitary regulations will prevent them from selling flowers or whatever crops they sell to other countries; or what products will attract tariffs. They will also know what labour can be exported. I am aware that, in fact, the Ministry of Trade and Industry under the leadership of the Minister has held various conferences. Studies have also been conducted on the impact of these Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). However, I think it is important that we have a wider audience in terms of our business people. Mention was made on the fact that the national indicative programme, which is basically some kind of budget strategy paper between the EU and ourselves, that this information does not pass through Parliament. It is normally a deal between the Ministries and the EU. Now that we have the Budget, Fiscal Analysis and Appropriation Committee, I think it is important that these programmes are brought before the Parliamentary Committee and parliament in general so that we approve them together; not just as single-line item in the Budget. It should be a detailed programme where hon. Members can make a contribution. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you heard of the sad situation mentioned in this Report on the visit to Mandera Hospital where the ACP-EU delegation noted with great concern the pathetic condition of the children there. If these budgetary allocations are brought before Parliament, we could influence the reallocation of funds to deal with some of the issues that have been raised in this Report. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, ACP-EU discussed something about tourism and its impact on the economic development of countries. It discussed the bad side effects of tourism such as sex tourism - this is something that is now coming to Kenya. These are issues of great concern and we need to know how they can be handled. Certain countries, for example, a small island like Barbados with a population of less than 300,000 people is capable of handling up to two million tourists per annum. This has increased the per capita income of the people there to US$9,000. We know that in Kenya, with a revenue of about Kshs56 billion from the tourist sector; very little, if anything, trickles down to the groups that are host to wildlife and sceneries that the tourists visit. This is not fair at all. The European Development Fund contributes to some funds also for investment and development of infrastructure in this area. We hope that, through the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB), proper use of this resources will be made. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, something has been mentioned about fish and its impact on the economic development of our country. We rarely ever talk of fish in Lake Turkana. The beaches of Lake Turkana are shared by five constituencies one of them being my own. There are massive fish resources there and yet we know that Ethiopians on the other end of the lake fully utilise the ample fish resource of Lake Turkana. It has been said by some researchers that the quantities of fish available there annually could be worth Kshs3 billion. We hope that when 486 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 10, 2007 discussing about fisheries in these meetings, we could also include Lake Turkana, which hardly ever features when we talk about fish. The issue of conflicts has also been discussed in this Report. It is unfortunate that when, in these sessions, discussions are brought forward on small arms, we, the victims - I say so because I come from northern Kenya and we are affected by the availability of small arms arising out of conflicts within the region - often the measures that are being encouraged to be put in place include disarmament, something which I have nothing against as long as it is not selectively done. We ignore the fact that those of us who are affected by small arms have never had the capacity to manufacture those arms. It is the Europeans and the Americans who have the capacity to manufacture arms. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, statistics from some of these Reports state that the G- 8 countries, alone, are responsible for 85 per cent of global arms trade and 64 per cent of the arms deliveries end up in developing countries. I do not need to debate on the impact of trade in small arms in this country. We know that it is a US$60 billion business in USA and the lobby groups there are so strong that they would not want to conform to the United Nations Firearm Protocols or laws that would reduce the manufacture of small arms. It is, therefore, important to know that while we debate these issues about the presence of arms in Kenya and conflicts, which is a very serious issue, manufacturers of those arms are not in Kenya. They need to be reminded of their responsibility, which is that they have to ensure that there is no escalation of this trade. That is why I personally would stand here to oppose any recommendations to bring capital punishment for possession of arms. I entirely disagree with the view that possession of arms means preparation to go and kill. Very often, the possession of firearms has meant secure borders for this country. What we need to do is to look for solutions to the development problems affecting the northern part of Kenya, particularly in the area of infrastructure, education and alternative livelihoods. I believe that we can talk to the Europeans and Americans. They are also human beings and when their conscience is pricked, they may release funds to support development so that the arms that are released through conflict in the region will have no use because everybody will be comfortable. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support the adoption of this Report."
}