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"id": 246324,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/246324/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mungatana",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 185,
"legal_name": "Danson Buya Mungatana",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. All I am saying is that we should also look for possible solutions as we criticise the Budget Speech for the benefit of our country. I congratulate the Minister for Finance because for the first time since Independence, we have had a provision in the Budget, specifically for the settlement of the landless people. The Kshs400 million set aside for the settlement of the landless is a measure that should be supported. There are some parts of this country, and in particular, the coastal area, that have a big problem with regard to the settlement of squatters. We, the people from Coast Province, have had historical problems since Independence. No funds have been factored in the Budget to settle squatters. This money should be availed to particular areas such as Coast Province where the problem of squatters is rampant. Having said that, I would like to say something on certain issues that have been raised in this House. The issue of governance has been raised and repeated in this House by hon. Members. We have had problems with scams that touch on mismanagement of public funds. From the Government side and in particular, from our Ministry, we appreciate what the Minister for Finance has done for us. Together with the other agencies we work with, the Minister made a specific announcement that he intends to increase the manpower in the Attorney-General's Chambers. This means that more prosecutors will be available. He also intends to increase the number of Judiciary officials. This means that there will be more judicial personnel and, therefore, quicker dispensation of justice. The Minister for Finance further said that he will allocate more money to the national action on anti-corruption. This is a positive development which should be hailed. As far as the 1496 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 21, 2006 Anglo Leasing and Finance Company scam is concerned, the Minister for Finance said that he will lay on the Table of this House, a Debt Management Bill which will address debts that have been raised here and those that we have read about in the Press. Some of those debts arose from the previous security contracts that were authorised and were supposed to be paid for but have not. The Minister said that, that Bill will be laid on the Table so that as a House and as Kenyans, we will get a chance to examine what ails our public debts and the measures we can put in place so that these things do not happen again. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Finance also talked about governance. I believe that the proposed Bill that will be brought to this House will deal with the issues that we have raised here. Again, I congratulate the Minister for mentioning something about the youth. We have talked a lot about unemployment. However, there is a specific item in the Budget about the Youth Enterprise Fund. All of us are happy about this. As we talk about the 36 per cent unemployed youths in our constituencies, let us come up with proposals on how the fund should be used to benefit them. Devolved funds have also been made available. For example, the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF) and the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) have been increased, although not to our expectations. Maybe, it is time we sat and asked ourselves what we, as hon. Members, have done in our constituencies. How many job opportunities have we created with the funds we have provided? How many youths have we employed? If all of us can account for employing directly ten or 100 people, we would make one step ahead. I think the effort the Minister for Finance has made towards this end will not be lost. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the poor state of our roads has been raised in this House. This issue has been raised again and again by various speakers. I would like to say that all of us are affected by the poor state of our roads. However, we inherited an economy that has had its fair share of trouble. I congratulate the Minister for Finance because in his Budget Speech, he proposes to increase in the medium term allocation, roads-infrastructure funding from Kshs81.7 billion to Kshs126 billion in the 2008/2009 Financial Year. We pray that the rural areas will be favoured in the actual allocation. Again, as leaders, we can come together and ensure that the roads we prioritise, especially in the rural areas, are well taken care of. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, something has been mentioned about our prisons. We have been told that it is not a good thing to plan for the expansion of prisons, when, in fact, there are other things which we can do. Indeed, the hon. Member who said that was correct. We have a plan and we will be releasing the details soon. So many of the petty offenders will no longer be congesting our jails. This will be in line with the bigger development goals of releasing funds towards development issues. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}