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{
    "id": 244828,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/244828/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 190,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Angwenyi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 326,
        "legal_name": "Jimmy Nuru Ondieki Angwenyi",
        "slug": "jimmy-angwenyi"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not know what statistics he has used to get that information. I do not have it for my constituency. In fact, I was astounded to see that Karatina Town is shown as having a higher population than Kisii Town. As a result of this, I devoted my own resources and asked university students to go and conduct a population census of Karatina and Kisii towns. From that survey, I discovered that Kisii Town has four times the population of Karatina Town and yet, Karatina Town gets more resources than Kisii Town. Is the former Minister for Planning and National Development telling me that they knew that the population of Kisii Town is four times that of Karatina Town and yet they stated in their records that Karatina Town has a higher population than Kisii Town? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am saying that none of us actually knows or can access records of even the prospects for the creation of our constituencies. As we sit here, we do not even know the population of Kenya. The last census we had in 1999 indicated that we were about 30 to 31 million people but I believe today we could be probably closer to 40 million and yet we are basing the sharing out of resources on that faulty information that cannot be updated regularly. We should make decisions that are based on informed information. That is all I am saying. So, I expect the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KBS) to be staffed with the people who have got the knowledge to gather information. They should also be given the facilities and equipment required so that they can carry out the census. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, last year there was a question raised in this Parliament as to why the Ministry of Planning and National Development had spent Kshs645 million to survey the poverty index in Kenya. If you give me Kshs645 million Kitutu-Chache will be a developed constituency. It will match some of the developed areas in the developed world. With Kshs645 million I can do all the roads to bitumen standards in Kitutu-Chache and yet that money was sunk to find information which should have been found in the KBS which is supposed to update its records every time. That is what I am saying. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, currently, we receive bursaries from the Ministry of Education and those bursaries are based on enrolment in secondary schools. I can give an example on that. My constituency was given some amount of money for bursaries for the financial year that ended almost a week ago and my neighbouring constituency which I know has got less enrolment than mine was given more money. Why? Because of the faulty statistics from the current KEBS. The list was skewed to achieve a particular aim. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Kitutu-Chache is about 14 per cent. In the neighbouring constituency which received more money than mine, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is about 6 per cent. So, therefore, I have got more HIV/AIDS orphans than that other constituency. These orphans are the people who are supposed to be supported by these bursaries but they cannot access them because we do not have the statistics to show that I have got more orphans than that neighbouring constituency. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this country cannot move without having proper information and that is why I commend this Ministry for bringing up this Bill. I hope when we create the KNBS it will be independent enough to do good work and provide for the nation. The reason why I am July 5, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1869 saying that it should provide proper information for the nation is because currently there is a Budget which has been tabled in this House. Allocations have been made in that Budget. These allocations have been made on the basis of the statistics that the Government has. You might find that Othaya Constituency has received more money for water than Kibwezi Constituency but if you walked through Othaya Constituency you can see water everywhere. In fact, you might need to wear gumboots to walk through Othaya Constituency but if you went to Kibwezi Constituency you may have to wear slippers or sandals because the place is dry and there is no water. However, you cannot blame the people of Othaya Constituency. You can only blame the people who have given this information that the water is needed more in Othaya Constituency than in Kibwezi Constituency."
}