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{
    "id": 245894,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/245894/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 150,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Mwiria",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Education",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 190,
        "legal_name": "Valerian Kilemi Mwiria",
        "slug": "kilemi-mwiria"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute. Just as other hon. Members have done, I would also like to applaud the Minister for Finance for coming up with a Budget which has been credited by both the Government and Opposition side, as well as people from different sectors. Issues related to reducing poverty have well been addressed, whether in the form of initiating programmes for the youth, disaster management, or education among others. It is also commendable that we will be dealing more with development issues more than before. If we do not invest in development matters and only concentrate on expenditures, we may not achieve the goals we have set. There is a point that has been made on taxation and Kenyans who pay taxes have also been congratulated. It is important that we commend and credit them. We must have incentives for people who pay taxes so that a majority of people can also do the same. We must have a way of dealing ruthlessly with people who evade paying taxes. I hope that the matter that was being discussed concerning Charterhouse Bank and Nakumatt Holdings in relation to tax evasion will be taken with the seriousness it deserves, and that those who are concerned will be brought to book. People like those who deny the poor people the support they need and also commit economic crimes should be dealt with. The issue of limiting official vehicles is good. However, I wonder how we can endorse it. The issue has been spoken about many times before. I sometimes think that if we leave it to the Permanent Secretaries to decide how many vehicles a Minister or politician can have, it is difficult because the politician is the boss. It is important for us to have an oversight committee at the level of the Office of the President to make allocations of vehicles to Ministers, Assistant Ministers and politicians. Permanent Secretaries can appear to be very hopeless in front of politicians. You cannot limit an Assistant Minister or a Minister to one or two cars. Maybe, one way of dealing with the issue is by giving an allowance so that if one is not an Assistant Minister, they do not access the allowance. The allowance should be calculated as an equivalent of the amount one would earn so as to buy a vehicle while working as a Minister or an Assistant Minister. The idea of an independent procurement Authority is very important. However, owing to its importance, I hope that members of that Authority will be veted in some way; maybe, even by Parliament. Many useful recommendations have been made with regard to creating a conducive investment climate. Several proposals have been made with regard to licences, 24-hour port operations and regulatory reforms by the Minister for Finance. I hope the private sector will be involved in identifying and vetting the credentials of persons who are going to be members of that committee. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I like the idea of auditing schools because our secondary school education has become very expensive. Many children from poor families are not able to benefit from a good secondary school education. I hope that measure will be implemented to ensure that parents do not suffer. I like the idea of giving tax incentives to people who invest in education. They could be exempted from paying Stamp Duty on land that has been procured for building a school. There should be tax deductibles for those who want to invest in education 1608 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 27, 2006 facilities, including hostels. I hope we shall extend that to educational institutions, including universities. By doing that, we shall have taken care of Mr. Muturi's concerns regarding the expansion of university education. It is the only way out to have more educational facilities. The private sector should get more involved to make that possible. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the idea about mobile clinics is a good one. But it reminds me about the ambulances that were available sometimes last year. There should be a criteria to determine which district hospital gets an ambulance. Recently, it was the relationship of the Minister for Health with other politicians that determined which district got an ambulance. There should be a fair criteria to determine anything that is distributed from all Government Ministries. The point about black-listing or \"white-listing\" contractors is all right. But it is not enough to just put them on a roaster! We should ensure those people do not get any more contracts. It is not quite clear that those who have been accused of not doing their jobs have been punished. They should no longer win Government contracts because they cannot be trusted. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is good that we are going to spend money on the modernisation of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). That is important because when you compare JKIA with other international airports, it still lags behind. The need to keep on giving"
}