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"speaker_name": "Mr. Wamunyinyi",
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"id": 291,
"legal_name": "Athanas Misiko Wafula Wamunyinyi",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute on the President's Speech to Parliament. Previously, other hon. Members and I, have talked against recycling of retirees in this country. This has gone on and we continue to see people who retired from Public Service being re- appointed at the expense of youthful, young and well educated people. There are Kenyans who are well educated and young enough to hold certain positions. While that has been general, I want to narrow down to one previous holder of the office of the Controller and Auditor-General. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a man who served Kenya in the position of 268 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 29, 2007 Controller and Auditor-General for about 45 years. After his retirement, he has since been re- appointed to head another committee called, \"The Pending Bills Closing Committee\". This is a committee which is charged with the responsibility of reviewing the pending bills. It is supposed to look at the bills, appeals and claims for payment by various contractors in this country. While I may not have problems having such a committee, but I am looking at the person; Mr. D.G. Njoroge as having been the one responsible for looking at the accounts of this country's public expenditure, Government expenditure, State corporations and parastatals. Most of the audit queries have arisen from his work and some of the audit queries and malpractices that he has pointed out also include those pending bills. That being the case, that he is the person who brought them up and that he is now the person reviewing the pending bills, do you not find it unethical and conflicting that he is the person who conducted the audit and now he is reviewing again what his audit exercise brought about? That is completely unethical and it must be discouraged. If I was Mr. Njoroge, I would resign from that position. In any case, I do not see why he took up that appointment again. The Pending Bills Closing Committee (PBCC) is the final committee. If that committee recommends that certain pending bills be paid, they will be settled. That is an issue that the Government must look into. I strongly feel that Mr. Njoroge should be removed from that position because he is the one who brought about the issue of pending bills. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, having said that, I want to turn to issues affecting my constituency. I want to start with the issuance of identity cards. That issue has been talked about now and then by hon. Members. We feel that the manner in which identity cards are being issued in our areas has to do with the general elections. Some of the applicants for identity cards, particularly in Bungoma District, are being asked to produce title deeds and identity cards for their grandparents, some of whom do not exist. They went back to where they came from, near God or somewhere else! Some people are even being asked to produce identity cards for their great grandparents. If the grandparents are long gone to the other world, where do you expect applicants to get identity cards of their great grandparents? Sometimes, the officers involved in the registration of persons in Bungoma District sell those forms or they claim they are not available. Members of the public interested in obtaining identity cards are now very frustrated. In fact, as I speak now, there are some applicants who have been waiting for their identity cards for over a year. That is something that the Government must address. Otherwise, we may have to conclude that, that is part of a mechanism to rig the general elections. To prevent eligible Kenyans from obtaining voters cards is rigging the general elections. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my colleague, the hon. Member for Bahari Constituency, talked about pledges by the Government. There were promises that certain projects will be undertaken in some parts of Kenya. There is a very serious project in Bungoma District which His Excellency the President himself, who holds the highest authority in the land, promised to build. He said that Kibabii Teachers Training College (KTTC) will be built. He did that when he was soliciting for votes. Even after that, during his tour of western Kenya and Bungoma District, he said that, that college will be built. But up to now, there is no sign of anything going on. I must point out that he should get it very clear that, that is one of the political issues that made the people of Mulembe hate the former President Moi. When the time comes, it will be mundu khu mundu . That means President Kibaki should not expect any vote from there. That is because he promised to construct that college. We know that, that is the highest office in the land. When he says something, we expect nothing short of it being done. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, while we appreciate that there has been little improvement in the sugar industry in terms of payment to farmers, there is a serious problem which must be addressed. Otherwise, when the market will be opened up to the duty-free sugar from the COMESA region, it will be very difficult for our country. Other than Mumias Sugar Company March 29, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 269 (MSC), the rest of the sugar factories are owned by the Government. It is time to put more effort to ensure that the cost of production, particularly in terms of ploughing, transport, fertilizers and even cess that is charged on the farmers, is brought down. That is the only way we can compete effectively. Farmers are paid peanuts simply because of the cost of production. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other important area - and I have put a Question to that effect - concerns the people involved in sugar-cane cutting. Those are people who take a lot of risks. Since the sugar-cane factories started, we have always had sugar-cane cutters. Sugar-cane cutters take the risk of getting into those sugar-cane bushes with pangas from as early as 5.00 a.m. They have been doing that ever since the factories were established. Unfortunately, they have remained casuals up to date. Why is it that certain people are allowed to flout the rules? Why is it that certain people are allowed to contravene the rules to the extent that, the people who are actively involved in employment are subjected to a daily employment method? Those people wake up very early in the morning. They run to the farms carrying pangas to cut the sugar-cane with all the risks involved. The Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development has not taken up its responsibility. I wish the Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development could wake up and ensure that sugar-cane cutters are also treated like any other employees working in this country. Otherwise, when the time comes, I will mobilise them to stop the cutting and use the pangas against some other people who are involved. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}