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{
    "id": 243908,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/243908/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 234,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Raila",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 195,
        "legal_name": "Raila Amolo Odinga",
        "slug": "raila-odinga"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me state that I am opposing this Motion and with good reasons. The Minister is requesting for Kshs28 billion to finance his programme for this year. This is the Ministry that is in charge of security, but I think it can be rightly described as the \"Ministry of Insecurity.\" This is because the insecurity in the country is rising by the day. When a country reaches a stage where a Cabinet Minister is carjacked, and yet he has armed security officers with him, then something is terribly wrong. When a police officer is found murdered and his body mutilated, then we begin to ask the question: What has happened to our security forces? Part of this country is under a kind of civil war. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if you go to the northern part of this country, you will realise that there is a state of insecurity. People are being killed almost on a daily basis, and yet nothing is being done to help the situation. In fact, if I were the Minister, I would be ashamed to come before this House to ask for this kind of money, knowing very well that I have failed as a Minister. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was very amused to listen to hon. Nyachae speak here. He made pedantic attempts to defend the Ministry by saying that money is not given to the Minister; rather, it is the Accounting Officer in the Ministry who signs cheques. That is an admission that Ministers in this Government are redundant. Why does the Permanent Secretary, who is the Accounting Officer, not come to ask for money here in this House if at all the Minister will advance the argument that it is not him, but his Permanent Secretary who is supposed to be July 11, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1957 given money? The political responsibility rests squarely with the Minister and that is why we have a political Government. Why do we have to go for elections every five years and then come back only to abdicate our responsibilities and let civil servants run things the way they want? There would be no need for Kenyans to go for elections every five years if they knew that, in fact, it is the bureaucrats, who are appointed by the stroke of a pen, who are in charge."
}