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"id": 244823,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Lesrima",
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"legal_name": "Simon Saimanga Lesirma",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this debate. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in supporting this Bill, I would like to start by saying that the Central Bureau of Statistics is one of the Departments that have been marginalised by the Government over the years. If you look at its headquarters; Herufi House, which is sandwitched between the Central Bank of Kenya and Treasury Building, in a dilapidated condition, you will understand what I am talking about. It is a pity that the Bureau's officers are not even here to take notes, taking into account the sentiments expressed eloquently by Mr. Nyachae. There is need for the Central Bureau of Statistics to communicate much more effectively. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am told that statisticians by their nature, are very reserved people. I know that the officers working at the Bureau are very qualified, and that they do a lot of good work. Some of them have even a library covering the East African region. So, it is time we de-linked it from the Ministry of Planning and National Development and gave it resources in such a manner that is sustainable. The Bureau should also access resources from donors through the Treasury. We are also part of the international community and we should be able to work out our own autonomy. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would say that one of the reasons why there have been lots of complaints in the manner in which we allocate resources, is because the Central Bureau of July 5, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1861 Statistics has not been adequately funded to enable it collect statistics nationally. For instance, the Government has been determining poverty indices using statistics of Coast Province to base it on the statistics for the North Eastern Province. I understand that there has been recent investment to ensure that statistics from the North Eastern Province can now be collected accurately and utilised. It has all been a question of lack of resources. So, autonomy will assist the Central Bureau of Statistics to get out of this problem. I believe that is why the Minister is proceeding cautiously. When you divide resources under the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), you divide 75 per cent equally and play about with the remaining 25 per cent on the basis of a complicated resource allocation formula. This brings out some very interesting figures in CDF allocation, where you have a constituency in high potential agricultural area getting Kshs60 million and a constituency in extremely ASAL area, like mine, getting Kshs40 million. For instance, a recent economic survey indicated that we are 83 per cent poor. I believe that once the Central Bureau of Statistics becomes autonomous, it will do its work much more effectively. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I know that so much data has been collected through welfare monitoring surveys, which are conducted on intervals of five or ten years. We have been talking about the 1997 Welfare Monitoring Survey. One of the things we should do in parastatals is to use local resources. One of the problems is sending staff from Nairobi to collect data at the grassroots level. It would be good to utilise the local people at the grassroots level for data collection, because they are adequately educated. The Central Bureau of Statistics should also come up with educational programmes to enlighten the people on its activities, since in statistics, you cannot count everything. You rely on what experts call \"sampling frames\". These are not issues that can be understood easily by everybody. The department can be sustained through the sale of materials it collects. I do not want to say much but, in conclusion, I would like to say this is a straightforward Bill that has been long overdue. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}