HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 228233,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/228233/?format=api",
"text_counter": 240,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Mugo",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Education",
"speaker": {
"id": 85,
"legal_name": "Beth Wambui Mugo",
"slug": "beth-mugo"
},
"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not anticipating any debate. I am talking about the resolutions as they have been passed in the IPU. I have seen and the Press has written about it. The report I have seen from that committee does say 24 and if you say 24 in a House of 221, hon. Members will not translate that to anything near 30 per cent, what we have been asking for. If it is talking of 36 nominated Members of Parliament, they should actually be talking of 12 nominated women Members of Parliament, which will at least comprise one-third which is recommended internationally and nationally. Those are the statutes we are talking about that they should be legislated. We must start here. If that is what the IPU has recommended as being partnership between men and women, then we should start with this House honouring it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I commend the President for showing the way by asking his own Government to reserve 30 per cent of recruitment into the Public Service to women. That is what we are asking this House to do. Otherwise, we will just be playing lip service. Very recently, we saw what happened to the Members that we nominated to the East African Legislative Assembly. Even when we debate Motions and Bills to do with women, it is in this House where we see them opposed mostly. So, I am trying to sensitise my colleagues; the male Members of Parliament to be gender sensitive and adopt the resolutions which are passed internationally. I think that is what the Chair was trying to say. I thank this House for passing the Sexual Offences Bill after a lot of problems and objections. There were some fair gender-sensitive men. I should even refer to them as very sensitive men to humanity, who supported the Bill wholeheartedly. I am not condemning all of them, but there are a few who still need to be convinced that, that is the way to go. Until such a time when we will be sensitive to these issues, we will just be playing lip service. As we move to the 10th Parliament, we should see a change. We should see this House with, at least, one-third of the hon. Members being women. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, food security was taken very seriously by the Members. We thank the visiting Members for the contribution they made, because that is when we had draught in North Eastern Province. But I also commend the Government, because for the first time, in four years since it came to power, we have not imported any food. At least, we have enough food despite the big drought. What we must encourage the Government to do, is to make sure that every area of this country is able to produce its own food. Wherever the climate does not allow - although with boreholes it is possible to practise agriculture -we should improve the marketing and transportation, so that food can immediately be moved from one area where there is plenty, to other areas where there is none, without any wastage. I think the main challenge right now is improving food storage in the country. The issue is not that this nation cannot feed itself. It is now able to feed itself, but we need to feed all areas simultaneously, because the food is there. So, I commend the Ministry of Agriculture, because we 396 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 4, 2007 have seen a change and shape in the right direction. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, so once again, I ask that the relevant Departmental Committees take hold of these resolutions and other resolutions from other conferences of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and domesticate them. In addition, they should recommend to this House which way to go, in order to domesticate them, so that we can make use of those vast sums of money we use in these IPU conferences. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}