HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 229735,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/229735/?format=api",
"text_counter": 29,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kibaki",
"speaker_title": "His Excellency the President",
"speaker": {
"id": 43,
"legal_name": "Emilio Mwai Kibaki",
"slug": "mwai-kibaki"
},
"content": "March 20, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 7 Mr. Speaker, Sir, one of the critical challenges to improving our economic performance and providing greater employment opportunities to our people is security. Unlike many developing countries, Kenya is yet to become a 24-hour economy, largely because of concerns about security. My Government is determined to turn this around and to ensure that in the coming year, our security agencies will win the war against crime. Similarly, the perception of corruption and mismanagement of public resources must be eliminated if we are to attain a more equitable and prosperous society. Mr. Speaker, Sir, to reduce corruption in public procurement, the law and regulations under the new Public Procurement and Disposal Act are now in operation. We will strengthen the Judiciary by increasing the number of judges from 60 to 200 to ease the shortage of judges that has caused a backlog of cases and slowed down the administration of justice. In this regard, the Government will soon be tabling a Bill to increase the number of judges in the Hight Court from 50 to 150 and those in the Court of Appeal from 10 to 50. My Government will also introduce amendments to open up wealth declaration to public scrutiny, and propose a Bill to enhance judicial autonomy. These laws and regulations will strengthen the existing anti-corruption legal and institutional framework, make justice more available to all Kenyans and strengthen the fight against corruption. Mr. Speaker, Sir, last year, my Government tabled 32 Bills in this House. I commend hon. Members for passing 19 Bills during the last Session. We shall be republishing the lapsed Bills for consideration by the House. In addition to these Bills, the Government will be producing new Bills to consolidate the economic and social gains and improve the governance of this country. I will now address some of the areas that the Government intends to introduce legislation and Sessional Papers during this Session of Parliament. My Government will be tabling a Bill to enable the direct elections of mayors, deputy mayors and chairmen of county councils. This will facilitate better management and accountability of our local authorities. We will also be tabling a Political Parties Bill to better regulate political parties in this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, during my visits to the provinces and districts, the leaders and wananchi in some areas passionately argued for sub-division of their districts in order to bring services closer to the people. In response to those requests, the Government has approved 38 new districts and will be tabling the necessary legislation to formalize their establishment. The legislation will also seek to legalize 24 other districts created earlier, but not finalised through an Act of Parliament. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with regard to the Constitution Review Process, I want to assure hon. Members that my Government will facilitate dialogue on the nature and extent of the reforms that are needed. We will then table before the House the necessary legislation that will define the way forward on the review process. I urge hon. Members to participate actively in debating those Bills in order to ensure that what is enacted into law reflects unanimity on the way forward in completing the review of the Constitution, and how we will build strong and durable national institutions and political parties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, among the Bills that we will re-introduce is the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering legislation to enable us have a legal basis to deal with money laundering. We will also re-table the Domestic (Family Protection) Bill that will protect women and children from domestic violence. My Government will table Bills on coffee, cereals, pyrethrum and sugar to enable the agriculture sector to continue to grow effectively. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with regard to co-operatives, we will be tabling before this House the Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies Regulation Bill, which is intended to instill strict financial discipline in all savings and credit co-operatives throughout the country. To enable the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector to realize its full potential for employment and wealth creation in Kenya, my Government will table an ICT Bill this year to 8 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 20, 2007 provide for a single regulator for the sector. We propose to make amendments to the Firearms Act and Penal Code to provide for capital punishment for persons convicted of acquiring, possessing and importing firearms without a permit or licence."
}