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"id": 229114,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/229114/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Opore",
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"speaker": {
"id": 308,
"legal_name": "John Zebedeo Opore",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the President's Speech. First, I support the President for the good Speech that he made and the points he dwelt on, especially, on the performance of the economy which is doing very well. This is so because of the good management of the economy by the March 28, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 235 Government generally. As we all know, production in the areas of milk, maize and wheat, tourism, horticulture and generally the agricultural sector is doing very well. Because of that, all we can expect is increased Government revenue. On that front, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is doing well and that has enabled the Government to collect more revenue. Therefore, we, as hon. Members and our constituencies are doing well because we have managed to allocate more funds funds to the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). This has boosted the economic growth. It will even grow further if there is more allocation to the CDF. This will boost the economy and we should even expect more growth in the years to come. I will not be surprised that if the CDF management is sustained for the next five years, we may find the economy growing past the 10 per cent rate per annum. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is true that the education sector has expanded and enrolment has gone up. In order to make the education growth more comprehensive, it is important that the Government considers seriously the issue of recruiting more teachers. That will make the student-teacher ratio more friendly to the quality of education. On the area of health, we know that our trained medics are strained. I would like to request the Government to consider employing all the nurses and medics who have been trained so that they can cope with the ailments among our population in the country. We know that our resources are constrained, but if we pay attention to this problem by increasing the funds allocated to the health sector every year, then we will overcome it. By doing that, we shall be making the Kenyan population healthier. This will also enable them to participate in various economic activities that will, generally, improve our economy. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need to recruit more medical staff and teachers. This will alleviate poverty. By doing so, the Government will improve the income of wananchi . Ultimately, the per capita income will also improve and in the process it will boost economic growth. We all know that good roads are very important when it comes to increasing agricultural productivity. Good roads aid the movement of agricultural commodities. So, I would suggest that more funds be allocated for roads and telecommunication. That will greatly improve the performance of our economy. The Government is doing very well in the energy sector. The people of Bonchari are so much excited about what the Ministry of Energy is doing. I am sure that the Ministry is performing well countrywide and the Government should be commended for that. Nowadays, democracy has been given a wider space than before. That is why I support my colleague, the hon. Member for Wundanyi, for recognising that the Government has provided us with the freedom of association and speech. It is for that reason that people are free to participate in the development of this country together with the Government. They are supportive of what the Government has put forth. We all know that if that continues, everybody will benefit immensely from whatever the Government is doing. With regard to telecommunication, a lot has been achieved. I want to thank the Government because it has embraced a free market economy. This has greatly assisted our economy to grow. The Government is trying to move away from monopolistic trade by encouraging free investment in our economy. That will greatly improve the growth of the economy. I said, earlier on, in the next five years, our economy will grow by more than 10 per cent. This is all because of the freedom that has been provided by the Government. In the area of livestock, the opening of abattoirs by the Kenya Meat Commission, for example, in Mombasa, will benefit people living in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). It will also increase employment opportunities in the country. We really encourage that. Fishing along the lake and ocean shores should be encouraged. This will benefit the people 236 PARLIAENTARY DEBATES March 28, 2007 living around Lake Victoria and the Indian Ocean. We need to ensure that fishermen gain from their toil because they are exploited by middlemen. At the end of the day, that will reduce poverty in the countryside. This applies to all types of farming be it fishing or agricultural farming. We should guard them against exploitation to ensure that they benefit from their work. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to general performance of businessmen, the funds which will be disbursed to our youth will enable them to become investors. This will ensure that we have homegrown investors. In the long run, that will increase productivity and you will find that the local people are themselves the investors. We should not depend heavily on donors. I believe that in the future, we will not need to depend that heavily on donors to invest in our country because our own efforts will have become enough. We generate a lot of funds in this country, therefore, we must invest them locally. That way, we shall do away with dependency on donor funds. We know that about 95 per cent of investments in this country is locally generated. If we work hard enough, even the remaining 5 per cent can be generated locally. Sometimes the conditions that we are given---"
}