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{
"id": 229239,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/229239/?format=api",
"text_counter": 122,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Muchiri",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Local Government",
"speaker": {
"id": 225,
"legal_name": "Muchiri Geoffrey Gachara",
"slug": "geoffrey-gachara"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. The Speech by His Excellency the President was up to the point and I support it. His Excellency the President exuded a lot of confidence in his Speech. I would like to highlight a number of pertinent issues that were mentioned in the Speech, and which need to be applauded. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the fact that we will bring the Political Parties Bill in this House is a very important step as far as democracy is concerned. The issue of political parties and how they will relate will be defined in that particular Bill. It is high time we defined what coalitions, alliances and agreements are, so that parties can co-exist in this country. We want to further democracy in this country by embracing multiparty democracy. The whole question of how to register a political party is important. It should be contained in that Bill, so that parties are registered not necessarily because they are tribal or otherwise, but because they need to be registered. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of amending the Constitution, His Excellency the President mentioned that, that issue will be brought to this House. It is important for us to understand that constitution-making is highly political. It is a political process. By being a political process, we need to involve all the stakeholders. As a Government, we want to talk with the other side so that we can give Kenyans a new Constitution. If that is not possible, we shall give them essential reforms. We must have essential reforms that will benefit the larger Kenyan public. We do not have to craft essential reforms to please one person. We are all in agreement that when those essential reforms will be brought to this House, we shall support them because they will benefit all the Kenyans. It is also true that wananchi in our constituencies rarely ask about the March 27, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 125 Constitution. Wananchi want development to be delivered on their tables. They really do not want the document alone. It will not bring food on their tables. Therefore, the talk and debate about the Constitution should end soon after the amendments are brought to this House. We need to define the process and the contents so that things can be clear when we go to the negotiating table. That is very important because Kenyans have, for a long time, been yearning for some constitutional amendments, even from the time I was a Commissioner in the Ufungamano Constitutional Initiative. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the economy of this country has improved. There is no doubt about that, whether you come from Government or the Opposition side. As a Government, we should ensure that the ordinary wananchi have more purchasing power. The improvement of the agricultural sector and other sectors of the economy will give wananchi economic power to purchase goods and services. Nobody can deny that the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) and the New Kenya Co-operative Creameries Limited are now operational. Roads are in a better condition. We are able to transport agricultural produce to the markets. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in Nyandarua District, for example, roads are now in a better condition. We assure this country that we will bring a lot of potatoes, carrots and cabbages to Nairobi and elsewhere. That is a move in the right direction. That is happening because roads are being repaired and constructed. We need to ensure that farmers get their dues. Since the Ministry of Local Government is in charge of markets, it should ensure that the potatoes are packed in the right bags. They should be packed in 110 kilogramme bags. In future, we will not allow produce to enter the markets of Nairobi, Nakuru or elsewhere, if it exceeds what is contained in the various legal notices. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a Bill to elect the mayors directly is very important. That way, there will be concentration of leadership at the local level. I assure hon. Members that, that will bring a lot of improvement in the governance of local authorities in this country. Instead of the mayors and chairmen being parochial in their approach to administration, the fact that they will be elected directly by wananchi will make them accountable to those wananchi . The fact that they will stay in office for, at least, five years will make sure that they deliver services to wananchi . In the same breath, we want to urge town clerks and chief officers of local authorities to manage them properly. As a Ministry, we will not tolerate any town clerk or chief officer who is mismanaging a local authority. We will not transfer one officer from one station to another. We want to tell them that if one messes up in one station, he or she will be suspended and, eventually, lose his or her job. We do not want to transfer a problem from one station to another. I can assure this House that, that will be done. We want to embrace transparency and accountability in our local authorities. The Government would like to forge ahead in that direction. With regard to security, the docket that Mr. Michuki heads has done well. Let us give credit where it is due. Mr. Michuki is trying to fight people with illegal guns and as such he has to be tough. We want to encourage him to be tough. You cannot be a security man if you are an easy- going person. We still have security concerns here and there. For example, last night in my constituency, in an area called Nyanjoro, a group of thugs who wanted to rob a shop attacked my constituents with all manner of crude weapons. I take a lot of exception to that kind of action. Fortunately, police officers from that area were able to contain the situation. Although the Government may not be able to post its security officers to every corner of this country, we want to ask wananchi to ensure that, if they have bad elements within their midst, they should inform the Government. That is the only way we can curb insecurity. At the same time, through the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), we have created police posts everywhere. We want to ask the Minister of State for Administration and National 126 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 27, 2007 Security to provide security personnel. In that regard, since there shall always be victims of insecurity, the Government should create a fund for those people. I imagine the two men, from my constituency, who were hacked by thugs last night; they have seven stitches on their heads. Who will bear that cost? The Government should come up with a fund to compensate victims of crime. That is something that can be explored. The issue of wildlife is a matter I would like to address because there are areas, including my constituency where elephants and other wild animals are still a problem. I want to ask the President that if he is not happy about one or two things in the Wildlife Conservation and Management (Amendment) Act, it should come back here so that we can look at it. It is necessary that we have this Act assented to, so that people whose property is destroyed by elephants can be compensated in good time. The other day, I had to give my two-acre maize crop to wananchi, because their maize had been destroyed. But for how long can we do this? I think it is incumbent upon the KWS to ensure that the human-wildlife conflict does not continue to be a problem in this country. Let us take the elephants where they belong; Mt. Kenya and the Aberdares. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}