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"id": 245478,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mwancha",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me a chance to contribute to this Motion. Like many hon. Members of this House have said, we laud the increase of the CDF kitty, but I join those who said that we need much more. I agree with hon. A.M. Mohammed who said that the minimum increase should be 5 per cent. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other day I was disappointed by the World Bank. The World Bank said that the CDF should not be managed through the constituencies. There is no money from the World Bank that we have seen in our constituencies, despite the fact that a lot of funds have been injected into it which were supposed to reach our constituencies. I suggest that the hon. Members of this House treat the comments by members of the World Bank with the contempt that they deserve. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on security, funds have been allocated to the relevant Ministry but they are not translating to the ground. At the moment, in my constituency, even the policemen and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) offices in Nyamira agree that there are guns for hire to criminals and, unfortunately, for as low as Kshs5,000 to Kshs10,000. About two to three weeks ago, a Mr. Onkoba Bironga was gunned down in his house after selling a dairy animal and sugar-cane. In the morning, the cartridges of a G3 rifle were discovered. The police who came from Nyamira District informed the public, and I was there, that there were guns available for hire in my constituency. I would like to urge the Government to move with speed and use its long hands to recover the guns which are being used to terrorise people. People are getting to a point where they do not want to work hard, to sell their animals or do business because this will be the source of their death. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am happy that the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) has been re- opened. It is also worth noting that the Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) is now operational, although not all branches have been revived. However, what do the people from pyrethrum 1666 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 28, 2006 growing areas have to smile for when we know that farmers delivered their crop to the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK) and they have not been paid for it? We urge the Government to move with speed and get the funds that have been given to KMC, the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) and other institutions, to have them revived, so that the pyrethrum industry is also revived. Pyrethrum is for export and we request that even for foreign exchange earnings, this industry needs to be revived. Farmers are requesting to be paid for deliveries to the PBK. They are not asking for any funds or relief food. Whenever there is famine in this country, we know that funds are made available and Kenyans are given relief food. However, these are farmers requesting that they be paid money for their produce. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the price of plucked tea is Kshs9 per kilogram. Out of the Kshs9, the farmer has to give the tea plucker half of that money. He remains with only Kshs4.50. The tea bonus has been dwindling from the time when farmers earned Kshs20 per kilogram to the current Kshs9 or sometimes less. The farmers are now urging the Government to revert from a situation where they have directors running their factories, so that the Government can run these factories. It is out of frustration that they are making these recommendations. This is because the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) deducts for fuel oil, which is used to dry tea in the factories. The farmers do not know how these services are procured. They do not even know how machines in the factories are procured. These include the vehicles that are used. They just see new vehicles. Tea is a perennial crop and farmers do not know what to do with it. Tea farmers are urging the Government to move with speed and look into issues that concern this industry. Much as we have seen various institutions revived, such as KMC and KCC, and for which we say this is a positive move; the next move farmers are waiting for is the revival of the pyrethrum and tea industries so that those of us who come from those areas will also have something to smile about and say: \"Indeed, this Government is thinking about the plight of all farmers in the country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we came here in January, 2003, we were informed that STABEX funds were going to be used to bring electricity to coffee factories. Some of us went round and identified those factories that had been earmarked and asked the people to wire them because the STABEX funds were coming. To date, we have not heard anything about the STABEX funds. In fact, I have information that we might as well forget about the STABEX funds. Many other factories in other parts of the country benefitted from the STABEX funds. In my constituency, not even one factory benefitted from STABEX funds. What exactly happens when it comes to allocation of these resources? If one factory is benefiting, the same should apply to all constituencies. We should not concentrate in one area while ignoring the others. When we came here, I asked a Question about electrification in my constituency. We were informed of the French Phase II. I am sure that many hon. Members are aware that the French Phase II was going to bring power to our constituencies. This was about 2003. To date, the French Phase II has even fizzled out. The elections are coming next year, and we had promised our people that they will get power through the French Phase II Programme. I have two DOs, one in Manga and another one in Rigoma, who still stay in the dark, yet they are Government officers. This is the Government headquarters where there is need for electricity for the issuance of identity cards and other Government operations. This area needs to be looked into so that distribution of these resources is even throughout the country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Kshs11 million has been given to constituencies for repair of the roads. Some of our areas receive heavy rainfall. The murram we put on the road can hardly stay for a week because of the heavy rainfall. We have been grading these roads until all the murram that had been put there is completely washed away. We come from a rich loam soil region. The Government should increase allocations of funds for roads to make the roads motorable. This will enable the people to get to their homes at any time of the year, whether it is raining or not. June 28, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1667 Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me now turn to the issue of education. The introduction of free primary education was an excellent idea and parents are very happy about it. Pupils have gone to school but there is no matching number of teachers. The ratio of teachers to pupils in schools is appalling. We are providing quantity rather than quality education. The Government needs to move fast to ensure that sufficient teachers are employed. This will enable us to give our pupils quality education. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Youth Enterprise Fund is also an excellent idea. I would like to thank the Government for coming up with that fund. We need funds for women as well because they are already involved in small businesses. For instance, they engage in the sale of second-hand clothes, sugar-cane and so on. This sector also needs to be funded in future."
}