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"id": 229504,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/229504/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dr. Wekesa",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Science and Technology",
"speaker": {
"id": 137,
"legal_name": "Alfred B. Wekesa Sambu",
"slug": "alfred-sambu"
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"content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to also shower praises upon His Excellency the President for his exposition of public policy contained in his Speech that he made in this House two days ago. For the record, I also want to inform my colleague, the Minister for Energy that I was also listening when the hon. Member of Parliament and our Temporary Deputy Speaker was showering praise on him. So, it was not only mheshimiwa Tuju who was listening. I was very carefully listening to those beautiful comments. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to speak about the achievements of this Government. This Government has done well so far. In four years, we have done well. In four years, we have introduced free primary education. We are also seeing the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) doing wonders. There is also the Bursary Fund that goes to the poor students in our communities. There is also the Youth Enterprise Fund that was introduced close to a year ago. Now, we have the Women Enterprise Fund. All those funds are going to address very important sections of our community. The women and youth of this country are important. They are very important when it comes to elections. They turn out to vote. They turn out to campaign for us. That is one way we can eradicate poverty. The number of women who try to earn a living by selling vegetables and fruits is, by any standards, very high. Therefore, His Excellency the President has seen it fit to really address problems facing our youth and women. At the same time, we also realise that in public appointments, we have to make sure that, at least, 30 per cent are women. We have seen growth in the agricultural sector. The dairy farmer, the maize farmer, the sugar-cane farmer, the tea farmer and the coffee farmer is now paid. That is something that we have not seen before. What I am saying is that given four years that the NARC Government has been running this country, I think we need to build on these developments. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) has been used very heavily in my constituency. The infrastructure in education has benefited a lot from the CDF. I just want to draw the attention of my colleagues that we have a law governing the usage of CDF. However, we do not have the same when it comes to the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF) and I have always wondered why. I think the LATF can complement very appropriately, the CDF. So, why do we not, through this House, ensure that the LATF has the same regulations governing its use. I have seen in my own constituency that committees are not in place to ensure that LATF is used properly. I am, therefore, urging and I will be speaking to the Minister for Local Government to ensure that we have proper regulations governing this Fund. On the issue of accountability and transparency, we need to do more. If, indeed, we have done so much in this respect, we also realise that there are areas where we should, in the next five years if we are elected, ensure that more emphasis is placed on accountability and transparency. Issues of nepotism must come to a stop because of our 42 tribes; I have always said that our diversity is our strength. You are aware that this country has had peace all over this period that we have been Independent. If we compare ourselves to the surrounding countries, we see that in Kenya, we have had peace. I think this has come about because of our diversity; our 42 tribes. It is a balancing act and we should not be ashamed to talk of our tribes. However, we should be ashamed when we feel that those in power are perpetuating nepotism and tribalism. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also have a problem with corruption. I think we should have gone a step further in addressing the issue of corruption. I know perception is a word that we have used in this House many times. To remove perception that somebody is corrupt, the best thing to do is to take these people to court and let them be cleared by the courts. This has been done in a few cases. I would have been happy to see where there is perception of corruption, the issue has been settled in court. If we do not do that, then we leave doubt as to whether the person perceived 94 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 22, 2007 to be corrupt is corrupt or not. So, I think, we, as a Government, should be able to put our effort in this sector. Insecurity is also a worrying issue. However, at the same time, the Minister in charge of Internal Security, Mr. Michuki, has done a good job. In my own constituency, I can see peace prevailing. We have our young people from the Kenya Army doing development at the border and have created peace in the area. I would like to request that these young people who are at the border doing a good job constructing roads and sinking boreholes remain so that we, particularly people in Kwanza, can enjoy the peace and security that we have had for the last few months. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, listening to my colleagues on the other side, I would have expected them to praise the Government in some areas where we have done well. However, there is this culture of painting the Government as a bad animal. I think we should move away from that. We are building this country together; the Opposition and ourselves. I think we are responsible enough to recognise where good has been done and call a spade a spade. I have been in the Cabinet for two years; it will be two years in November, 2007. The last speaker, who is a good friend of mine, Mr. Ochilo-Ayacko, was in the Government for three years. We have developed this country together. There is no time when the Opposition, which includes many people who were in the Government, will flay this Government for not having done well. How do you apportion the inefficiency of the Government when you look at the Opposition and ourselves? I think we should recognise that we are all building this country. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}