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"id": 237446,
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"speaker_name": "Prof. Saitoti",
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"legal_name": "George Muthengi Kinuthia Saitoti",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was talking about ICT and I am very disturbed that my colleague cannot listen to what I am saying. If we really need to develop this nation, we must embrace ICT fully. I was trying to state a few things that we need to do. First, we must be committed to ensuring that all our schools, especially secondary schools are fully equipped with computers. That is very important. Many countries of the world have committed themselves to ensuring that, at least, 70 per cent of those leaving secondary school are ICT literate. We also have to do so because the computer is the language of the 21st Century. We have to ensure that the youth who complete secondary school are ICT literate. In order to do this, the Minister should look ahead and think of how this country can improve its computer infrastructure. What is more, he should be able to help Kenyans obtain computers and their hardware cheaply so that they can be easily accessed to students in our secondary schools. In the developed world today, even primary school students are computer literate and teaching is done through the computer. We have to move very quickly and ensure that computers are obtained cheaply. This can only be achieved if more resources are made available. Secondly, even if computers are available, there are other two very important things. We should be able to provide electricity to our schools and also access the internet. Connectivity is one problem and accessing electricity is another one. Providing electricity to schools which lack it is not a waste of resources. Indeed, it is an investment that will benefit us in the future. However, I commend the Minister for Finance for recognising that fact. I wish to urge him to prioritise the need to have computers in all schools in this country in the next Budget. In the Minister's Budget Speech, he also recognised--- I am sure that the resources we have set aside are being generated through the revenue measures. I have in mind the setting up of the Youth Fund. If, indeed, there is a time bomb that we need to avoid in this country, then, it is unemployment among the youth. Whether we like it or not, it is a time bomb. The only way we can be safe is by addressing this problem immediately before it explodes on us. Hon. Members will agree with me that whenever we visit our constituencies, we find several young people looking for jobs. Most of them are out there looking for hand-outs. We are happy that the Youth Fund has been set up. However, I would like to urge the Minister that in making future taxation proposals, he should ensure that a taxation measure is put in place in order to generate sufficient funds that will enable the country have a sizeable Youth Fund. The Kshs1 billion that we have now is only a drop in the ocean that cannot address the magnitude of problems that we have with regard to our youth. However, it is a recognition of the problem and a good sign. We, therefore, need to explore other ways through which we can be able to raise substantial resources. That is only through taxation. In the case of education, we need to focus ahead and know how to finance it. We need to 3250 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 31, 2006 increase the amount of money offered as bursary. Currently, the Government only offers Kshs800 million in form of bursary for our secondary schools. Many countries are known to have established sources of revenue for purposes of funding education. A substantial amount of resources raised can finance free primary education and even secondary education. When we talk of universal education, it means basic education. In many countries that terminology also covers secondary school education. This is an imaginative thinking, but I know the Minister is not wanting as far as financial imagination is concerned. I, therefore, urge him to look into that matter. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, women have also been recognised. I commend the Minister for that. This is because women are a very important dimension in the development of this nation and we should continue to increase whatever resources that have been made available for their entrepreneurship. Only then can we be able to counter the difficulties that we experience in this country. We must be ready to work with women. We must also empower them so that they can address the problem of unemployment and poverty. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, many years ago, I had the pleasure of suspending capital gain tax. The rationale behind my action at that time was the fact that there was very little activity in the capital market. As a matter of fact, the capital market had almost come to a halt. The thinking then was that if, indeed, capital gain tax was suspended, this would be an incentive to investment in the capital market and thereby reviving it. Since 1995 up to now, there is no doubt that the capital market has become an extremely active destination for investment. This was fairly demonstrated when there was the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares by KenGen. Kenyans have now embraced the fact that they can actually invest their money in these stocks. This was unheard of many years ago. It is true that the capital market has, indeed, come of age. I am happy that the Minister has not thought of re-introducing the capital gain tax. It is important that things remain as they are now so that the capital market becomes even more active than it is now. It is true that we have the most active capital market in our region. However, we need a little bit more of sensitisation as the capital market continues to grow. In fact, the best thing the Minister did in this Budget was to make it clear that, indeed, through the capital markets the Government, and even the parastatals, can raise development money. This is what should have been done before. I believe that in future, instead of raising money from Treasury Bills for purposes of financing consumption, we should raise that money from specific projects. This is a step in the right direction. The only way in which we can get substantial resources is by creating confidence in our stock exchange. However, I know the Minister has gone into great length to argue in favour of retention of Capital Gains Tax as far as properties are concerned. I do not know whether while raising the revenues the Minister spoke about, this will not make it more expensive to own land and other properties. It may very well work the other way round. This is an issue that I think the Minister should look into properly. He may experiment with it this year and revisit it in the next Budget when he will have had some experience about it. What I am really saying is that it might cut both ways. In the medium-term the Exchequer may get more revenue, but on the other hand it may make ownership of properties more expensive. It may eventually even deny the poor the chance to own property. So, this is something that I am concerned about. Other than that, I would like to commend the Minister for this Bill. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}