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{
    "id": 228626,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/228626/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 96,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Arungah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 292,
        "legal_name": "Julius Odenyo Arungah",
        "slug": "julius-arungah"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the Speech by the President. I listened very carefully to the President's Speech and tried not to sleep. As I looked at the President, I remembered the NARC dream. I was reminded of several things: I was reminded of what the NARC Government promised the people of Kenya. I was reminded that we promised the people of Kenya a new future which has more wealth for its people, more equitable distribution of natural resources, more employment opportunities and a country with reduced poverty. In his Speech, the President alluded to the fact that, to achieve all these goals, we needed to invest in programmes that would provide that prosperity. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to appreciate here that, even the harshest critic of this Government will acknowledge the sustained and prudent fiscal and monetary policies that have been put into effect in the last four years, which have resulted in a suitable and conducive investment environment. We have a reasonable and stable exchange rate; we also have reasonably lower interest rates. This, to me, is conducive for investment and one hopes that when the President says: \"It is, indeed, true that we did attract investments to the tune of Kshs8 billion\", that, hopefully, comes with additional jobs. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to appreciate the role played by this Parliament, by engaging the Executive in the Budget-making process. In the past, it has been a routine or boring exercise where Parliament had no say in what was going on. But I am happy to note that as Parliament, we shall play a role in how the Budget is formulated. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is a contentious issue about what rate our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has attained. We were told that it has grown to about 6 per cent, but I will give the Government the benefit of the doubt because all of us have seen that, over the years, there have been additional resources through the CDF, the Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF) and money which is allocated for roads, which has continued to increase over the years. So, I am happy to give the Government the benefit of the doubt that there is, indeed, some growth. We also note that our children are now able to go to school without paying school fees and there are also other services like the Youth Enterprise Development Fund. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also want to address the issue which has been raised by my colleagues, especially from the Opposition side. The impression they gave was that whatever development initiative this Government is undertaking amounts to a bribe. As far as I am concerned, the Government has a contract with its people for a period of five years. It is, therefore, not prudent to say that they give services to the people for four years and in the election year, they are supposed to sit back, nod and do nothing. The Government has, therefore, been accused of bribing voters. I think that this is short-sighted and is not fair. The Government must continue to provide services to the people, even during the election year. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am particularly delighted that in its programmes, 80 per cent of secondary schools in Khwisero now have electricity. Almost all the markets have electricity. I am hopeful that by the end of the year, all the remaining schools will have electricity. I also want to appreciate that after a long struggle, the Ebuyangu to Ekero Road is finally going to be tarmacked. I am aware that the contractor has been given authority to commence work and, hopefully, before the beginning of next year, we will see some work going on, on the ground. March 29, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 255 That is as much as I would say on the good side. However, there are certain issues that the President needs to address. Despite his impressive development record, this Government has a serious image problem. But I am convinced that the President has time to put on a brave face and assure Kenyans that we can have one country and one people. If this Government is going to fall, it is going to be on account of two issues: Corruption and tribalism or ethnicity. Mr. Speaker, Sir, on corruption, the Government has, itself, admitted that it is very difficult to prosecute some of the corruption cases, and that it is finding it difficult to take any measures. This admission means that if it cannot do it, then it had better give way to somebody who can do it. Since it cannot take any measures, suspicion is rife that there could be accomplices in the corruption cases. Mr. Speaker, Sir, The issue that nags most is tribalism. I have taken this matter very seriously, and gone out of my way to commission a study dealing with the problem of negative ethnicity in this country, especially in the public sector. I will be quoting from it, but for now, let me say one thing. There is an hon. Member of this society who has faithfully served this country for a long time, even during the time when judicial officers were getting nothing or very little pay. When the terms were improved, we have noted a tendency where one ethnic group has tended to dominate the appointments in the Judiciary. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am particularly aggrieved, because a constituent of mine, having been vetted, recommended for appointment as a judge and escorted to State House to be sworn in, a Minister in this Government did make a phone call and one Aggrey Muchelule was not to be sworn in as a judge when the whole country had seen this man adorned in a judge's regalia, and they are wondering what happened. I think the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs owes this country an explanation as to why Aggrey Muchelule was not appointed a judge after he had been vetted and escorted to State House by the Chief Justice himself. The Minister owes this country an explanation as to why this was the case."
}