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{
    "id": 228923,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/228923/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 197,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kiunjuri",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Energy",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 175,
        "legal_name": "Festus Mwangi Kiunjuri",
        "slug": "mwangi-kiunjuri"
    },
    "content": " I am sorry, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker. On the issue of minimum reforms, there is nothing new that has been said. We said all those things while we were back-benchers on the opposition side and our conviction was the same. Baptism is the same. We believe in reforms, but not the ones which will be forced down our throats. You cannot say that you are a democrat and appear in the headlines of the local dailies everyday giving conditions of what should be included in the reforms. If one wants to be a democrat, he or she should know that the reforms will be a matter of give and take. We should not force our demands on others. At the end of the day, even if we demonstrate in the streets, go to the negotiating table for 24 hours or negotiate for 100 years, the only way we can change any part of the Constitution, be it a comma, sentence or a paragraph, is by tabling the reforms either in this House or we take them to the referendum and have votes cast on them. Since we do not have a referendum, the only option left, even if we were to discuss the issue in hotels, is to bring those amendments to this House, discuss them and vote accordingly. Nobody can boast of having two-thirds majority support of this House; not the Government or the Opposition. So, we should stop chest-thumping, talk to one another and agree on the contentious issues for the sake of the good governance of this nation. Some of us are reasonable when it comes to reforms because we know that things could change. President Kibaki might rule until 2012. However, we do not know who will rule this country beyond 2012. Therefore, when we 186 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 28, 2007 call for reforms, we should ensure that we have reforms that will be appropriate for Kenyans and not for Mr. Mwangi Kiunjuri. Those are the reforms that do not favour either ODM(K) or NARC(K), but the ones which will cater for our children and this country. I beg to support."
}