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"speaker_name": "Dr. Khalwale",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for East African Community",
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"legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the gist of the President's Speech was the welcome growth in our economy. I would like to applaud the Government for the same. However, I insist that it is important that we manage the obtaining growth in the economy in the sense that this must translate into reduction in unemployment and creation of more jobs. I was a little bit disappointed that while the President was on the economy, he had very few words about the need for us to expand the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To me, since my calling is in East Africa, I am aware that there is a big window of growth in the East African Community because, as hon. Members know, up to 80 per cent of the trade in this country is done within the East African Community. At the moment, we have a very important exercise that is going on in the three East African partner states. Members of the public are being asked to comment on the need or lack of it, on fast- tracking the political federation. I was expecting that by now, hon. Members would also be pronouncing themselves, in fact, leading the process for the need to fast-track the political federation in East Africa because this will automatically lead to improvement in trade and, therefore, expansion of our GDP. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me to say something about the Kenyan society as it is today, with special reference to human rights, the state of security, sexual behaviour and the way we handle our dead bodies. I would like to decry the relationship between the leadership of the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) in this country and the attempt by the Government to ensure that there is security in this country. It is only last month when my Professor of Medicine - he taught me immunology at the School of Medicine at the University of Nairobi - was murdered in Kitengela. It was very saddening that when Matheri, who led the group that murdered Prof. Bwayo died, after he had been caught up by the police, the Chairman of the KHRC sent condolences, a full page in the Daily Nation, to the man who killed a professor of medicine. He did not have any simple kind words for Prof. Bwayo. We are very saddened by the way this man called Mr. Kiai is handling human rights. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, maybe, Mr. Kiai is taking a cue from what is happening in the Office of the Vice-President and Ministry of Home Affairs. It looks like this Ministry is bent on improving the comfort of prisons to the extent that today, petty criminals are happier to be in prison than to be at home. Some of the luxuries being passed over in prison are not welcome. May I talk about another issue of the social fabric in this country. Might it have passed in this House without me knowing, about something called \"homosexuality\"? There was the World Social Forum (WSF) the other day at Kasarani and we saw our youth putting on T-shirts saying: \"I am weird! I am gay! I am proud!\" I was so surprised! Those characters should have been arrested because this country does not promote homosexuality. Surely, when we allow our youth to consume this kind of nonsense, are we really providing leadership to our youth? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, I will talk about the issue of social matters; the way we dispose of the dead. The population of Kenya today is 34 million and with our life expectancy of around 40 years, it, therefore, means that in 40 years time, we are going to have 34 million graves. I think the Government must have a clear policy on disposal of bodies. If you go to rural areas, for example, in Western and Nyanza provinces, people are very keen on cementing graves. One of these days, the whole of the countryside will just become a graveyard. We need to have a policy in place such that if you want to cement a grave of your departed one, then you 142 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 27, 2007 should bury that person in the cemetery. If you want to bury the person in your homestead, then the grave should not be cemented because in the fullness of time, the same graves will be used by posterity for purposes of growing tea and so many other crops. We cannot afford to convert the entire countryside into a graveyard. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to mention something about minimum reforms. I want to congratulate hon. Members of Parliament, from both sides of the House, who have stuck out until it has finally been agreed that there is need for minimum reforms. This does not mean that, in any way, anybody is defiant to the Government or belittling the system. It is only that there is no time to do comprehensive reforms. With regard to the issue of Nominated Members of Parliament, we would like to encourage that this clause be adopted so that we have 36 Members of Parliament being nominated and 24 of them must be women. Out of this 24 women, only three should represent the urban women. They should represent urban areas, like Kisumu, Nairobi and Mombasa. The rest of the women should come from the rural areas to stop pretenders who jump around in this city saying that they speak on behalf of women when they are even unable to put together a family. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the second thing about minimum reforms I would like to talk about is the issue of 50 per cent. Ladies and Gentlemen, let us think about 50 per cent plus. Really, what is wrong with this? If you are a strong Presidential candidate, there is no reason why you should not get 50 per cent of all the votes cast. Besides that, the 50 per cent requirement is the only answer to a tribal Presidency in Kenya today."
}