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"id": 229501,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/229501/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Ochilo-Ayacko",
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"speaker": {
"id": 347,
"legal_name": "Ochilo George Mbogo Ayacko",
"slug": "ochilo-ayacko"
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"content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for according me this opportunity to add my voice to the ongoing debate. I want to agree with my immediate predecessor in congratulating the Minister for Energy for the manner in which he is discharging his obligation. I can see there is an increase in connectivity. I am happy that he is effectively executing the programme that I left when I was the Minister for Energy. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the bit of that programme that the Minister for Energy needs to pay attention to, and if he would be kind enough to listen to what I am saying, is the cost of electricity in this country. In 2003, we promised Kenyans that electricity would become affordable and industrialisation would depend on the affordability of electricity in this country. That is a challenge that the Minister for Energy should take into consideration. Just before the Minister for Energy resumed office after a little absence - I am told it was a sabbatical leave - there was hue and cry regarding the prices of petroleum products. That challenge is still fresh in the minds of Kenyans. If the Minister can proceed with diligence, we will enable him, through legislation, to deal with the sky-high prices of petroleum products. The Minister said that he intends to work, and he has started working very well. If he can attend to those two areas, namely, the cost of electricity and also the high cost of petroleum products, some day he may want to run for high office and he can bank on us if he is able to discharge that little obligation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President made a Speech that has received positive support from diverse corners of this country. However, the President has been making good Speeches every year. I hope this time round he is serious. He made a wonderful Speech when he was inaugurated to office in 2003. He made wonderful Speeches in 2004 and 2005. He has now made an even better Speech in 2007. These Speeches count for nothing if they are not matched with action. The President came to my constituency in the presence of many Ministers, including myself and pledged to those humble Kenyans that he would expand the crushing capacity of Sony Sugar Company. As we speak, nothing of that kind has taken place and Kenyans from that side of the world are wondering whether Presidents just make speeches and fail to implement them. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is sad that at this hour of our development, we are still haggling on when to import sugar in this country. You find the Minister for Finance fixing a date and the Minister for Agriculture talking of another date. Kenyans, by their very behaviour, have confirmed that they are ready to purchase sugar milled in this country. They have even confirmed that they can purchase it at any price. In other words, there is a market that is ready and available to use that product. The Government is doing absolutely nothing about most of the public sugar factories, for example, Nzoia, Chemelil, Muhoroni and Sony Sugar Factory. In fact, when you hear Ministers fighting over who should import sugar and when it should be imported, that is a shame. It is so shameful that nothing is being done about it. All these beautiful Speeches that have been made by His Excellency the President, have not in any way, helped sugar-cane farmers in this country. Sugar-cane growing and milling can employ so many people in this country. Right now, it is estimated that about 6 million Kenyans are dependent upon this agricultural and industrial exercise. If the Government is serious about creation of employment and wealth, the only reasonable thing to do is to invest capital in State-owned sugar companies and mill enough sugar so that we do not import sugar from any other place. We have proved that the market is available for it. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President also talked about the Youth Enterprise Fund and his 92 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 22, 2007 desire to create a Women Enterprise Fund. I had the fortune, or misfortune, of being the Minister for youth and women activities. At that particular time, and up to last year, the budget that was set aside for youth activities was just Kshs12 million. The budget that was set aside for women activities was also Kshs12 million. It casts a lot of doubts and suspicion when, towards an election, you hear all of a sudden that money is raining from everywhere for women and young people in this country. A sum of Kshs1 billion set aside for youth activities is not enough. It is very little and cannot reflect the pledges that the President and the Government made to the youth of this country - to create 500,000 jobs every year. The pledge that there will be some funding for women in the coming Budget is not enough to liberate the women of this country from poverty. If you look at the face of poverty in this country, you will see that it is either feminine or youthful. It requires nothing short of a marshal plan. In fact, the President, during the national days, talks about giving 30 per cent of the Public Service jobs to women. But when you audit that and look at what is actually happening, you will see that there is a great contrast. We know that the President, under the Constitution--- Every Kenyan in Public Service, save for jobs that are under-pinned by the Constitution, holds office at the pleasure of the President. If you look at the gazette notices that are issued by the Office of the President regarding appointments of boards of directors and chairmen of State corporations, you will see that no ladies are appointed to chair anything! So, I wonder whether the President is serious whenever he says that there is an intention to apportion 30 per cent of available public offices to women. The opportunity is there. If you go to any State corporation, take, for example, the Kenya Revenue Authority, which is a major blue chip parastatal in this country! count the number of women there. Even if you do not talk about tribal issues that are very true and were talked about by hon. Members of this House, you will see how women have been treated in this country. Now, to come up towards the sunset and promise women employment is to belittle the minds and ability of women to assess how this country has treated them. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there was a promise that dialogue will take root regarding constitutional reforms. But I am a bit suspicious about the dialogue that is talked about in terms of speech. One of the areas where there has always been plea for dialogue is the appointments of the commissioners of the Electoral Commission of Kenya. There is no indication, whatsoever, that there is willingness on the part of the President and the Government to discuss how the elections at the end of this year will be free and fair. So, it appears that the call for dialogue might have been a gimmick. You may do gimmicks with your country and people, but I doubt whether you will be able to do gimmicks with God. That is because as you promise human beings certain things; as you make commitments to human beings who were created in the image and likeness of God, you are, by extension, making commitments to God. You may take it lightly and say: \"So what? What will these human beings do to me?\" I think it is important to honour those promises. It is equally important to honour the promises that we make. We have been promised dialogue in this last leg and important Session of this House. We want to see that dialogue. We did not see it yesterday. We have not seen it today. We did not even see it when the House Business Committee was being constituted. We will unlikely see it when other committees will be constituted in this House. Where is this item called dialogue? If there is no dialogue, I believe that what we are talking about here becomes unilateral and difficult. With those few remarks, I beg to oppose."
}