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"id": 228931,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/228931/?format=api",
"text_counter": 205,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. Abdalla",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 245,
"legal_name": "Abdallah Jumaa Ngozi",
"slug": "abdallah-ngozi"
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"content": "Thank you, Mr.Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to comment on the President's Speech. I would like to start by congratulating the President for promising to establish a women enterprise fund. This is a welcome move, in that it is going to give the bankless an opportunity to receive funding to start businesses. However, I would like to mention that in the tradition of this Government of quoting ideas, it should begin by appreciating the source of that idea, through the Bill proposed by the hon. Dr. Ojiambo. It should support that Bill when it comes to the House, so that we have a legal framework through which this funding is going to be distributed. I am very hopeful that, that will happen, so that we avoid the pitfalls of the Youth Enterprise Fund that has taken over nine months to reach the beneficiaries. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a colleague who spoke before me talked about favouritism in public appointments. He said that the population of the community that is being accused of getting most of the public positions, is higher than that of other communities. That is the justification he gave. I just want to inform him that there is no community in Kenya that can boast of a population representation of 70 per cent. So, he had better look for a better justification to give for this bias in public appointments. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I welcome the President's suggestion that the district committees of the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) should have more women representation. But some of his suggestions require legal backing, as they are illegal as at this time. For him to suggest that leaders of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake organization, now that it is politically-correct, should be part of the CDF, is a fallacy. This is because we know that the CDF Act clearly says that its only two women who should be in the district committees. If we want to increase that number, we have to amend that Act, but not hoodwink women that we are giving them an opportunity for decision-making positions. Given that those proposals by the President require legal backing, it is my hope that we, hon. Members of Parliament, would assist in ensuring that we do not only legalise some of them, but also make them issues that will exist beyond this 9th Parliament. Today, the Maendeleo ya Wanawake might be politically-correct, because all the \"Orange women\" were locked out in the elections, but we do not know what will happen tomorrow. Let us increase those numbers using structures that would bring about women leadership, independent of politically-correct structures. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other item that I would like to congratulate the President on, was his suggestion of bringing legal amendments that would ensure that those people who are found in possession of illegal firearms are penalised through capital punishment. In my opinion, that is a welcome move. It gives prominence to the level of insecurity that we, as Kenyans, are facing. But as I welcome that move of increasing measures that would curb insecurity in our country, I wish the Minister of State for Administration and National Security was here to address the issue of some of these new kangaroo courts that he has established, through what he calls the Rhino Squads. They are arresting our youths all over the country, without necessarily charging them. They instead ask them for bribes. If this is a measure to intimidate the youths, so that they would be more politically-correct, I think they should be comfortable with the Youth Enterprise Fund. It is already doing enough campaigns for them. On the issue of insecurity, we need to look at the facilities that the police force is currently 190 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 28, 2007 enjoying. Last week, we attended a meeting where we were informed that the money meant for building houses for the police force is yet to be spent ten months into this year's Budget. This means that we are just paying lip service to the issue of insecurity in this country. If we do not house policemen in better houses, how do you expect them to do their job better? This year began with us losing many members of the police force through thugs shooting them down. I hear nothing from the Minister of State for Administration and National Security on how they are going to compensate the families of those security men who have lost their lives. All I hear is him ordering chiefs to campaign for his Government. Why should he not deal with the issues that affect real lives of the people on whom we have bestowed the duty to give us security? We should now look into issues of providing a medical cover for them, a pension fund and all those things that make people want to wake up in the morning to do their jobs. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the third thing that I want to mention is the low price of being a citizen of this country. Many communities in this country have problems getting national identification cards. I thought that the importance of getting a national identification card was to certify your citizenship. But what is the point of certifying your citizenship when even if you have the national identification card, the Government can bundle you into a plane and send you to another country? What is the price of being a Kenyan if you can have the national identity card and you are still deported back to Somalia? Twenty-two Kenyans were deported to Somalia purportedly for being Islamic Courts Union (ICU) fighters. Personally, I know five of them, and they are Kenyans who could not find employment in Kenya and had gone to Somalia to seek employment as teachers. What is the value of being a Kenyan when you can go to look for employment out of your country and the Government cannot support you when you are running away from the country where you went to seek employment? What Government worth its salt would deport its own nationals back to a country that is having internal crisis?"
}