HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 245228,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/245228/?format=api",
"text_counter": 143,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Leshore",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development",
"speaker": {
"id": 349,
"legal_name": "Sammy Prisa Leshore",
"slug": "sammy-leshore"
},
"content": " Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to contribute to the Budget Speech that was read by the youthful Minister for Finance. From the outset, I would like to say that the youthful Minister for Finance has given Kenyans a very good Budget this year. Many things have been said about that Budget. However, for the time I have been in this House; the last 14 years, I think this has been the best Budget ever read to Kenyans. The Minister allocated money to the youth, the youth polytechnics, water, the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF), the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), roads and many other good things that Kenyans are going to benefit from directly. We must give him a big clap for that! Mr. Speaker, Sir, the only group he forgot are persons with disabilities. Little does he know that if I go for lunch, I have to be assisted by other people. Those people need to be fed. He has not given any tax remission for persons with disabilities. When he stands to reply, he should consider giving tax remission to persons with disabilities. Mr. Speaker, Sir, much has been said about the CDF. This is one of the best things the Ninth Parliament did for Kenyans. We started it in the Eight Parliament, and I would like to congratulate Eng. Muriuki for bringing the Motion which gave birth to the Constituencies Development Fund Act. I seconded that Motion and little did we know that it was going to cover the whole country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Minister has allocated very little money to the CDF. I would like to request him to consider giving us 5 per cent instead of 2.5 per cent. That money is going directly to benefit the local people in our constituencies. Our areas have never seen dispensaries or schools built by village committees. However, through the CDF, we have seen that those people can work and they are very productive. I would like to request the Minister to consider giving us more money during the Supplementary Estimates. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in countries, like Malaysia and Indonesia, the village co-operative banks have done a lot to alleviate poverty in those countries. Now that a lot of money is going to the constituencies, I would request the Minister to consider bringing the Micro-Finance Bill or to amend the Constituencies Development Fund Act to allow for the introduction of constituency development banks. My constituency is more than 10,000 square kilometres yet we have no banking facility. We travel to Maralal Town, which is about 130 kilometres, or to Isiolo which is about 100 kilometres to seek for banking facilities. I would like the Minister to seriously consider how he is going to bring those services closer to our people, especially in constituencies in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) areas. Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me turn to the allocations to the Ministry of Defence and the National Security Intelligence Services (NSIS). A lot of my colleagues have said that the Ministry and the NSIS have been allocated more funds. I hope they are not displaying their ignorance. The NSIS and 1738 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 29, 2006 the Army are doing a wonderful job for this country. Those two institutions are very important for the economic development and peace of this country. We need a strong and an elite army. We also need an army that is motivated and one that has modern equipment. If we want peace, we must prepare for war. Therefore, by giving the Ministry of Defence sufficient money, we are safeguarding the peace of this country. The other issue I would like to touch on is about my Ministry. We have a department known as the Department of Occupational Health and Safety. We want healthy workers and whose conditions of work are safe. That department has been neglected for many years. I would like the Minister to consider increasing the budget for that department. That is a very important department to the workers of this nation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would also like the Minister for Finance to lump monies, like the LATF and other funds under the CDF. We are going to motivate and empower the CDF committees. If we do that, they will monitor the projects in the constituencies. We would like that office to be empowered so that we recruit more qualified officers. This is a very important office. We need it for future generations because it will take development directly to the people at the grassroots. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}