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"id": 245227,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Mugo",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Education",
"speaker": {
"id": 85,
"legal_name": "Beth Wambui Mugo",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support and contribute to the Motion on the Floor. Let me join my colleagues in congratulating the Minister for Finance and his team for a well thought-out and prepared Budget. It is definitely a development Budget. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Budget has come at a time when we need to re-look at our development strategies and make sure that we utilise that vast population of this nation which has lagged behind in development because of not being facilitated. I am talking about the youth who form at least 70 per cent of the whole population. So far, issues of the youth have not been properly addressed. I want to thank the Minister for setting aside Kshs1 billion, which will help in supporting the youth start their own businesses or even improve whatever businesses they may be having. I am referring to the many college and high school leavers who can usefully participate in developing this country. I would like to ask the Ministry of Youth Affairs to make sure that as they come up with the strategies and the policy framework which will be used to disburse these funds, a lot of care should be given to training and imparting skills to the young people in order to be able to utilise 1736 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 29, 2006 this Fund. Most of the time, it is not just the money required, it is the know-how, good business plans and how to apply those skills. That can only be done if we focus on training. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Education is now reviving village polytechnics. We believe that in order to industrialise our country by the year 2020 and provide enough jobs for all, we must put extra effort in technical training and entrepreneurship. So, I look forward to the Ministry of Youth Affairs working with us in the Ministry of Education and other line Ministries, so that these funds are properly utilised. That way, we will be able to empower our youth. When I talk of the youth, a lot of focus must be put on the girl-child who most of the time is left behind. This also applies to women. There are many village polytechnics and we are currently re-looking at their curriculum. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also want to thank the Minister for earmarking funds for developing women activities. This is especially in the agricultural sector where we can develop agro-industries and support our women to cultivate enough food for home consumption and for the market. I hope that the Ministry of Co-operative Development and Marketing will re-look at the marketing strategies for the extra produce. I would also like to urge the Ministry to subsidize inputs for our women farmers, so that, as they till the land, they are able to access the correct seeds and technology which they can use in farming. I do not want to forget the mama mboga especially those in the urban areas. Women make up most of the poor population in this country. We have a lot mama mbogas out there trying to make a living and even feeding their families from the hawking business. It is time we came up with a legal framework which will guide women and even young men who engage in the hawking business. It is very disheartening to see city council or municipality askaris harass these people. They are arrested on flimsy reasons and taken to court. They end up losing the little money they have earned for their families. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to propose to the city councils to change this practice of harassing hawkers. We should come up with proper guidelines and a legal framework on how hawkers can access the funds. I hope this Women Fund will not only be extended to women, but to all those people in the jua kali sector. The only problem is that, the Minister did not come up with specific figures like he did with the Youth Fund. We would like to see the Minster give women a specific figure showing how much they can borrow in a revolving fund. I want to stress this because we have heard of this issue before. This is not the first time this is being said in this House. Unfortunately, it has never been implemented. We want to challenge the Minister that he needs to put the right mechanisms in place so as to implement this noble cause. The money should also be availed. For the first time, I can say that the Budget is gender-friendly. We want to see this Budget implemented as it is. Even though it appears good for women, it will not bear fruit unless it is implemented. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also want to thank the Minister for increasing the budget for the agricultural sector. However, the funds set aside for this sector are not sufficient. Agriculture is the backbone of this economy. We, therefore, must translate that into action. That is where most of our money should go because the agricultural sector is capable of creating employment for most of our people. However, unless we put in enough money, we will not make progress. I am one of those people advocating for the reduction of the budget for the Ministry of Defence and other security organs of this country. It should be re-allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture. If we do that, women in this country will be able to feed this nation. We will have food security and famine will be a thing of the past. Until we empower our farmers and, in particular, the small-scale farmers, who most of the time are women, we will not have food security in this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me also thank the Minister for giving the Ministry of Education enough funds to ensure that the Free Primary Education Programme (FPEP) is successful. I would June 29, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1737 also like to call upon schools countrywide to make sure that the children are not wasted. We get disappointed when we hear that the money is misappropriated. We should put in place enough measures to ensure that, that money is properly utilised. We should also not hesitate to take to court whoever is caught misusing that money. Education, therefore, as we all agree, is the gateway to prosperity. It is one of the few ways we can use to reduce poverty. When all children get equal education opportunities, they have an opportunity to do any job in future. Education is the equaliser in any country. I would like to encourage the Government and the Minister for Finance to continue allocating the Ministry more funds to sustain the programmes we undertake. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}