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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Omondi",
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"legal_name": "William Opondo Omondi",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President meant a lot in his Speech and I know that he meant what he was telling Kenyans. However, I detest the fact that the President lacks the institutions that can implement what he desires for his countrymen. The democratic institutions that we have are sliding slowly to oblivion. Most of them are not operational. For example, here in this House, we do not know where we belong. We do not know whether some of us are in the Opposition or the Government side. This scenario cannot allow the easy implementation of March 29, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 281 Government policies. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the institutions of governance in this country are collapsing gradually. You know that Government starts from the hon. Member on the ground. It then rises to the Cabinet and to the President as the Executive, and then it goes to the Judiciary. When we do not respect hon. Members on the ground, the Ministers and the President, then it becomes difficult to implement Government policies. It is a well known fact that, in this Government, Ministers do not speak with one voice. We know that our Cabinet is not speaking with one voice. We have seen Cabinet Ministers contradict the President in public. So, this scenario may not enable the Government machinery to implement its policies. I would also like to talk about equity in the provision of jobs and distribution of natural resources. I believe, this cannot work under the current Constitution. It is not really possible for women to enjoy equal opportunities with men in the Kenyan society under the current Constitution. So, what we should be struggling to do now is to overhaul the Constitution so that we can get an even landing ground for our womenfolk. This will only happen if women accept that they are the weaker sex in the society. If they do not accept that, then they should compete openly with men on the ground and forget about the affirmative action. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when it comes to the distribution of natural resources, we need to bring in devolution of power to enable us allocate adequate money where it is required. It is absurd to see in our Printed Estimates districts, say, Nyeri or Meru, which have so many rivers, being allocated Kshs500 million for the purposes of provision of water and places like Turkana or Kajiado, which experience drought perennially, are allocated a paltry Kshs5 million. This means that the consideration for allocating these funds is based on other things which are not really the needs of the people living in those areas. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to talk about honours bestowed on prominent people in our country. It is a known fact that people who have done good work for this country are easily forgotten. We need to remember them. We do not want to see a situation whereby it is only certain individuals from one ethnic group being honoured. The other day, we had Mr. Lenu Ayanu; a stranger from Ethiopia. He was given a wonderful reception worth Kshs3 million. However, it turned out to be a farce. He was not from Nyeri as Kenyans were made to believe. I appreciate the fact that Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi did struggle a lot for our Independence. However, the honours he was given should have also been bestowed on other freedom fighters, for example, Messrs: Bildad Kaggia, Paul Ngei, Kisoi Munyao and even our sportsmen and women. Our sportsmen and women are languishing in poverty. These are people who have made us proud. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to comment briefly on the shoot-to- kill order by Mr. Michuki. That order is archaic and barbaric. We, as Kenyans, must come of age and emulate other countries. Most countries are in the process of licensing their people to carry arms to protect themselves against thuggery. We cannot say we want to amend the Firearms Act and institute capital punishment on people found with illegal arms. This is not proper. The Government must find civilised ways and means of punishing offenders. We cannot be dragged back to stone age period. A Government that is worth its salt must protect the lives of its citizens. Life cannot be taken away even by the devil. I suppose the Government is not a devil, but is supposed to be near God. Therefore, it should protect life and not take it away under all circumstances. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to talk about the money stashed in accounts abroad. When we came to this House, the Minister for Finance told us that they were zeroing in on the Kshs80 billion which was stashed abroad by some thieves. Kenyans were happy that the 282 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 29, 2007 Minister was doing a good job. However, this thing fizzled out and nobody talks about it. We do not know whether this money was really traced and, later on, ended up in some individuals' pockets. We do not know where it is! My demand is that this money must be brought back to the country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to talk about the useless commissions of inquiry that have been instituted by this Government. We had a Commission of Inquiry on Goldenberg scandal. It consumed a lot of taxpayers' money. It did very good work and came up with a report. Where did this report go? Who was punished? None! Instead some people were cleared and re-instated in the Cabinet. Such a situation must not be allowed to prevail if we are serious about fighting corruption in this country. There was another Commission of Inquiry on Anglo Leasing. Nobody has ever been punished. However, the perpetrators are known. Everybody knows them, but the Government protects them. This Government is not sincere when it says it is serious about fighting corruption. It is a pity that they are aiding the perpetrators of corruption in this country. We, as legislators, shall continue fighting corruption at all costs. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to talk about the Kshs7 billion that the President mentioned in his Speech. He said this money is meant for Rural Electrification Programme (REP). I urge the Government to include urban electrification in this programme. I remember Mr. Obwocha, who is here, said that urban electrification would be incorporated in the REP. I wonder what has been done for slums in Nairobi. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when Mr. Obwocha was in the Ministry of Energy, he put in place a lot of measures for the REP. However, when he went back to his Ministry, things stalled in the Ministry of Energy. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}