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"id": 229256,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Oniang'o",
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"legal_name": "Ruth Khasaya Oniang'o",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to congratulate the President for his wonderful Speech. As always, it is a good Speech because it is written but, of course, it does not really reflect the situation on the ground. I will be showing some examples on that. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, some of us were caught dozing off a bit, but you are aware that when we are a full House, this House is warm. We do not even feel the air-conditioners and we doze off. When the Speech does not excite anybody, we end up dozing off. Unfortunately, the media thrives on that because they really do not have much else to cover. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to congratulate the Harambee Stars and the cross-country runners for their splendid performance. In the recent few days, they really made us proud to be Kenyans and so we want to continue this way by recognising the performance of our March 27, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 129 young people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the reasons why I am congratulating the President for his Speech, and I really do believe that he means what he says, is because he is a great supporter of women. Women have shown that they can bring ideas to the table in a different way to complement what men say and do. So, I would like to see more women in 2008 in this august House. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is my last year here. Over the last five years, I have seen the great benefits that exist, of representing people and being a voice of the so many voiceless Kenyans. It is my hope that I will be one of those who will come back here in 2008. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I just want to thank our male colleagues because they helped us pass a number of gender-related Bills, including the Sexual Offences Bill. I would like them to really see that it was a great Bill to pass and they should not have any regrets in what they did. I would like them to also believe that when we have more women here, we can together build a better Kenya for all Kenyans and be on the international map as a nation which knows what it is doing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are aware that the Women Enterprise Development Fund may be coming forward. The Youth Enterprise Development Fund has already been alluded to. We also want to believe that this is not a political ploy. Women trade in a different way. They do not take huge loans, but one thing I know about women traders is that when they take a loan they repay it 100 per cent. So, we have not given enough support to women in the past. If we had done so, I think Kenya would have moved on quite a bit. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President talked about justice and equity. I remember that and I know he means it. However, I wonder why we, as political leaders or civil servants go on \"tribalising\" this country. We operate like little tribal nations within the bigger Kenya. Many Kenyans cry foul because they are marginalised and discriminated against even by virtue of their names alone and we want politics and development of inclusiveness. All Kenyans need to feel as part of Kenya and nobody should be left out. So, I would like to see a situation where we outlaw tribalism. We need to outlaw tribalism. If we do not do so, then we shall not develop as a Kenyan nation. That needs to start right from the top because when the top says \"we shall not tolerate tribalism, discrimination or marginalisation of any sort\", everybody else will follow suit. However, when the top does not say so, then people take advantage. When you go to an office and by the sheer look of your name, you are excluded, that is not fair and that is not the way to build this nation. So, I am hoping that as we move forward, we shall continue to check ourselves, especially leaders and make sure that we do the right thing for the many Kenyans who depend on us. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is true the economy has grown. We have moved away from high level fly-away inflation. We are now talking of Kenyans who are very aware of shares and the stock market. However, the majority of Kenyans, over 60 per cent, do not even know what Kshs1 million looks like. They do not even know what Kshs1,000 looks like. They are poor. They live dejected lives and they have not benefited from the gains of this nation. We would like, in the remaining few months of this Government, to come forward and show us how the wealth that it has created is actually going to trickle down to the ordinary wananchi . The ordinary"
}