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{
    "id": 241932,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/241932/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 242,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Prof. Oniang'o",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 363,
        "legal_name": "Ruth Khasaya Oniang'o",
        "slug": "ruth-oniango"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I have a flu, but I must contribute to this Motion. I remember bringing a Question here about the deplorable state of housing in Nairobi, and the Minister answered me by talking about street lights. Those of us who have families in the urban centres know about the deplorable conditions that many Kenyans live in. You see them come to work wearing mitumba suits, looking nice, putting up brave faces. If you went to where they live, you would be shocked. We should be ashamed of ourselves as leaders and as a Government. We have the same conditions in the rural areas, where people still live in one-roomed grass-thatched houses, yet they have enough land to put up decent housing. So, I want to commend the Mover of the Motion. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister has a very short time to show us what he is capable of doing in this sector. This fund should have been established yesterday. So, he should be on the run because Kenyans do not have decent housing. People vote with emotion because of the way they live and because of the environment they find themselves in. I want to tell the Minister that this is a governance issue and he should move fast and ensure that we have a plan of establishing communal housing which is cheaper and provides amenities that are decent for those who live there. We want to see a plan that covers the whole country. I am sure, if he comes up with a fund, other donors can feed into that Fund, and other investors, both Kenyan and foreign, can also feed into it. I am aware there are initiatives to put up affordable housing and to provide cheap funding for that housing. However, the bureaucracy is such that you pass so many stages until it is more than a year before you actually get permission to put up such houses. I hope when the Minister replies, he will address this issue. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is completely unacceptable to have an African family living in an extended manner in one room in the urban areas. This happens because people have nowhere to go. We are not talking of just the lowest paid cadre, but also the middle-income cadre. We do not have a policy as a Government to make sure Kenyans own their houses. Owning property is something that everybody desires, whether it is in the urban or rural areas. People in other countries do it. So, the Minister should start by showing us how affordable and accessible such a fund will be. Especially in the era of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, we are having a situation where there is no choice but to spread this disease. We have no privacy to even enjoy the basics of life. The onus is on the Minister right now. He should come back next week and tell us that he has actually established a fund. I am sure all of us who are here are going to support this Motion. With those few remarks, I wish to support."
}