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{
    "id": 235647,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/235647/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 236,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kamama",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Lands",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 165,
        "legal_name": "Asman Abongutum Kamama",
        "slug": "asman-kamama"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion. I want to thank Dr. Ojiambo for coming up with this very important Motion. I would also like to thank her for coming up with the Cotton Bill sometime last year. I think this hon. Member has been very prolific in terms of coming up with important Bills and Motions. I hope she will be the person of the year, next year because I know Ms. Ndung'u was the person of the year this year. Last year we had Prof. Maathai who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I think the female gender have been working very hard in this House. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me say that this country has many poor people in our urban and rural areas. We have so many young people from our rural areas trooping into this town to look for better life. This Motion addresses the problem of rural-urban migration. If we do not address the issue of rural urban migration, which has been a big issue over the last 30 years, we will not be able to manage our towns. Populations in our major towns will burst out. You all know what happens when we have large population explosion in towns. I want to urge the Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources to visit some of our poor areas. We know that Members of this Committee are fond of visiting big places such as horticultural farms and such other places. But I want them to visit places such as Korogocho, Dandora and Mathare to see the kind of poverty that is there. I am told that they see these places on television, but I want them to go right to those places to see for themselves the November 8, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3481 degree of poverty in this country. This Motion will address problems of people living in our slums and pastoralists. When you look at the financial infrastructure in the upper part of the Rift Valley, the upper part of Eastern Province and the entire North Eastern Province, you will find that most people in these regions have not benefited from the services of financial organisations such as the Kenya Women Finance Trust, Faulu Kenya and K-Rep. So this Motion will address the problems faced by pastoralists. As you all know, these people have been marginalised and just before Independence most districts in these regions were termed as \"closed districts\". You could only access them by having a pass issued by a colonial district officer. So, I hope this Motion will address the problems of people living in the ASAL areas. I hope that before that, the Government will look at the possibility of expanding the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC). When people ask for money from this organisation, they are told to look for securities such as title deeds. But our people have only cows, camels and donkeys. So, I think character loans should be introduced in these areas. In that way, the banks will go to a chief for a curriculum vitae of a herder who wants to borrow money from it. I know that some herders are very good and do keep their word. So, if we have character loans, people in ASAL areas will be able to access loans. People in these areas say money is in \"Kenya\", because some of them do not even know that they are in Kenya. When they are travelling from Moyale or Lokichoggio to Nairobi, they say that they are going to \"Kenya\". So, we want money to get to those areas. There is also what we call the multiplier effect, or trickle down effect, in our economy. The only way we can disburse money to the very poor is by us supporting this Motion in order to make sure that a Bill is brought here, passed and assented to by the President. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Government has come up with a programme popularly known as the Youth Enterprise Fund (YEF). This programme has not taken off. We are told that this programme will charge interest of between 5 per cent and 6 per cent on loans. I still feel anything beyond 5 per cent is on the higher side---"
}