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{
    "id": 236698,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/236698/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 375,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Finance",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I share the concern in terms of the issue at hand, especially considering the fact that about 50,000 of our children who represent the future of this country, cannot get access to education because of the strike. We also need to ask ourselves as leaders, what is our perception of responsibility for the future. These students represent the future of this country. Even as we sit here, we need also to look at the mutual responsibilities as leaders and lecturers. Do we want trade unionism? Do we want people to abandon the future of our children or can we sit down and discuss in a manner that will ensure that our children secure their future? It will be unfortunate for us to sacrifice the future of a whole generation because of people pulling and pushing, instead of sitting down and discussing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do appreciate the lecturers. I am a product of the Kenyan education system. A number of them did teach me. I did not have to go out of the country to seek education, because I was proud to be a Kenyan. I know they are intelligent. Most of them are doing their job because they believe in the calling for being a lecturer. They are not doing it for the money. However, I am also aware that there has been a lot of political machination and incitement in terms of getting the lecturers to strike, to portray a different image and create a ground's well of political activity with the students joining in. As leaders, let us not sacrifice the future of our children in any way. Let us not draw the university students into our political activities. When we look at all the figures in 2003/2004, I believe our lecturers are being compensated fairly. When I say fairly, I am looking at a comparison between what we are paying our lecturers and what those in the United Kingdom and New Zealand are paid, compared with the purchasing power parity between different currencies. I believe that we are paying our lecturers well? 3406 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 2, 2006 We are spending 27 per cent of our Budget on education; that is equivalent to Kshs102 billion. Part of this is going towards the grants that we are giving to the universities, so that they can hire these lecturers. We still have huge gaps in terms of the teachers we need at the primary school level; this Government having committed itself to educating for free 7.6 million children in this country. We still need to employ more teachers for them. We also need more teachers at the secondary level. We also need bursaries for the needy. In addition, we need money for the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF); to build the classes that we need for the future generation. Even as we talk, as leaders, let us try to balance all these needs vis-a-vis the resources that we have. This is because, at the end of the day, it is Kenyans who will have to pay more taxes, so that we pay the university dons. As of now, they are being paid much more than the rest of civil servants. I hope that when the Minister replies, he will have enough time to share with this House what the lecturers earn. If we start increasing one area, we will cause disproportion. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}