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"id": 229059,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/229059/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Nyachae",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Roads and Public Works",
"speaker": {
"id": 342,
"legal_name": "Simeon Nyachae",
"slug": "simeon-nyachae"
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"content": "He needs to know that. The driving force of any nation, village, clan or tribe are the wazees ; the people who are old. Until you appreciate that, then you will never understand which direction you are going. Interesting enough, when I hear people saying that the old people are tired and they are unable to do this and that, I look at the person and I start wondering: Do you know that you are getting old every minute and that you are going in the same direction? Let us respect one another. We know that the younger generation have a lot to contribute and that the older generation have a lot to offer in terms of experience and knowledge that they have acquired over the years. This is something that needs to be written off our minds. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we as a nation, linking it to this House and bearing in mind what the President said and also the Speaker's introductory remarks, we need to appreciate the fact that we, as the elected leaders who sit in this House, what we say is not for ourselves. It is for the people who elected us and sent us here. They are listening and watching us. The sooner we appreciate that each and every one of us, whether on that side or on this side has something to contribute in nation building, the better. It is very wrong every time I watch debate in this House that anything that comes from the Opposition has to be looked at negatively by my side, and every time the Government Side says something, the Opposition must take it in the opposite light. This is not nation building! It is important that if I say something that could be useful to our nation, both 212 PARLIAENTARY DEBATES March 28, 2007 sides should appreciate it. If I say something which has negative effects on our nation, I deserve to be corrected, just as anybody else should be corrected. However, people should correct each other in a reasonable manner. The language that we, hon. Members of this House, sometimes use, particularly when addressing the Press, is not good. I do not know what injections get into our heads. When you read what a leader has said as reported in the Press, you start wondering: Is this the gentleman or lady I was with yesterday? What is this that he or she has said? I thought we were looking for ways of working together. Competitive politics does not mean that I should always say the things that are unpleasant to your ears, and that whatever you say should be negative to my ears. That is not the way we should manage this nation. I have keenly listened to people talking about the rich and the poor. Could I, please, be guided by anybody who has knowledge of any country in this world which does not have the rich and the poor. There is no country which does not have the poor, or a country which has only the rich. What we should be working for is reducing the gap between the rich and the poor, but we will always have people who are richer than others. The gap is an important thing. In fact, over the years I have been a Member of Parliament, and even before, when I was a civil servant, I have always found myself very uncomfortable when I am seated with poor people, because they always tell you about one problem after another and yet you are a member of that society! You cannot be comfortable. So, there is nobody who is very pleased to see poor people. We sometimes tend to think that anybody who has done reasonably well is happy to see poor people. That is not true. Anybody with sincere moral feelings must be concerned about the wellbeing of the people in his or her community. In this case, this House should be talking about the wellbeing of the community of Kenya. As you listen to debate carefully, you note that whenever an hon. Member talks about anything, he or she talks about his or her own community. Anything one asks for, is about one's community. We complain that this or that has not been done. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let us do the best we can for the period we have been given the privilege of representing our people in this House, but from experience I know that nobody can solve the problems of Kenya today just because he or she has been elected to this House. Even those who will come after us will not solve the problems of Kenya. There are countries which have been independent and have been managing themselves for over 200 years. They are very rich but they have not solved the problems of everybody in those countries. We, in Kenya, should appreciate the economic achievements we have made so far and encourage ourselves to move ahead. We have improved our economy to some extent. Let us join hands to build it even more, so that we can all benefit. When you become jealous and lament that so-and-so or such a community has done well, and that you or your community has not done well, one thing which you have forgotten is that the best way to improve your own living conditions is to face the challenge posed by the other person. Do not feel jealous. You must face the challenge and say: I must also have that kind of business. I must also be a good farmer. I must also be a good contractor. That is what you need to do. Face challenges rather than coming to this House to grumble. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, since the time I was appointed the Minister for Roads and Public Works, I have been having a rough time. We do one road today, the next day we are told another road is required to be done elsewhere. The day after, we are told that another road is required to be done in another area. So, people will continue asking for roads to be done. Access roads are essential. People are demanding them. We cannot say no to the requests, but we have no means to, all of a sudden, do all of them. So, let us face the challenge. Look at what has been done in the agricultural sector. We are trying to do the best we can in the tea, maize and sugar sub-sectors, among others. As things start improving, you face other March 28, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 213 challenges like the cost of production, which has, again, become a bigger challenge for us. This becomes a major problem. We encourage farmers to grow a lot of tea. They work in their farms from 6.00 a.m. and by 12.00 noon they deliver their tea. You start transporting it to the factory and the rain comes. The roads are not so good. So, the vehicles carrying the tea leaf get stuck in the mud. The quality of tea goes down. These are the problems and challenges that we face. We cannot blame everybody. We cannot blame God for bringing us rain. If God refuses to give us rain, again, we will complain. So, let us co-operate and feel free to visit every area. Come to my area. Encourage my farmers. Encourage my traders. I will come to your area. There is no such thing as Opposition areas in this country. People keep on saying that certain areas are Opposition areas and so on. A person like me does not know of any Opposition areas, because my sons are married from all over the country. So, I do not know who is opposing me. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}