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"id": 247134,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Mwakwere",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Transport",
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to second this Motion. In doing so, I wish, on the outset, to congratulate the Chairman and the Members of the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations for the excellent work they are doing as a watchdog Committee on the Ministries concerned, and in this respect, for what they have contributed to the success of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am saying this because I served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs at the time they made these visits, and I must admit that I benefitted tremendously from their observations and recommendations arising from the visits they made. The concept of organizing an inter-Parliamentary Committee or forum that advises parliamentary democracy for the region is a very welcome idea. It has done a lot in fostering closeness between countries of the region and in ensuring that we have co-ordinated initiatives in bringing about peace and stability in the region. We all know that the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes regions have been areas of turmoil, with a lot of lives lost, and instability whose effects have gone beyond the borders of those countries. Many countries have been affected in one way or the other. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is the problem of the infiltration of small arms from the northern part of the region as well as from Central Africa and the Great Lakes Region, but through dialogue and interaction between and among leaders, particularly elected leaders, most of these problems can be contained and, in the process, make our region a very peaceful one. It is very important for us as African countries to know that our survival depends on our economic success and advancements. The meetings which have been held have opened up a chapter of charting the way forward to ensure that we co-operate more closely in the advancement of our economies. I will take the example of the Committee's visit to the DRC. We all know that the DRC is the fourth- June 14, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1395 largest trading partner with Kenya. In fact, it is the fourth-largest country that receives goods manufactured in Kenya. It is, therefore, a very important trading partner for Kenya. Our economy depends, to a large extent, on the activities, peace and stability in the DRC. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am pleased that the Committee came up with very constructive recommendations, which were taken up immediately by ourselves. I recall that the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, and I happened to be the one, made an immediate visit to the DRC to advance the exact points that this Committee recommended; that is to open up dialogue at that level of ministerial interaction, and also delivered a special message to His Excellency the President. That message included a very important section where he invited the President of that country to make an official visit to Kenya at an appropriate time. They will have their elections some time next month. I am sure that thereafter, we will receive a positive response and the country will be informed accordingly. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, trade is extremely important. However, trade without peace and the availability of appropriate infrastructure becomes meaningless. The northern corridor is the lifeline of the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We, on our part, have to do a lot more to ensure that the corridor is maintained and developed to withstand the heavy weight of luggage, both on road and rail, for the purposes of opening up meaningful trade with the DRC and other countries such as Rwanda, Burundi and even Uganda. What I am saying is all contained in the Report that was tabled by the Committee. There are a lot more issues that have already been acted upon. One example is to open up flights to the DRC; to implement the Bi-lateral Air Agreement, to ensure that we have flights to other capitals of the DRC. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, soon after this Committee's visit to the DRC, the Kenya Airways (KQ) started flights to Lubumbashi in the south-eastern part of the DRC. This is a development that was initiated soon after the visit and upon receipt of the Report. We are extremely grateful for what the Committee is doing. I am sure that we shall benefit a lot more from the interaction with other elected leaders in the region. I have just mentioned the DRC, but, indeed, the visit to Djibouti opened up chapters of greater co-operation and advancement and exchange of development initiatives between our countries. It should be noted that this concept has already been considered by other regions of Africa. Many countries in Africa do not have meaningful avenues for interacting very closely on areas that relate to neighbouring countries to advance trade and other areas of co-operation. It is a concept that I am sure, if adopted fully by other regions in Africa, will contribute to that intended objective of ensuring that Africa as a continent benefits more from intra-trade; that is trade between our countries, over and above international trade with other continents. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, once again, I would like to mention that the Committee has made recommendations that have been implemented. I will give another example that is extremely useful and needs to be taken into consideration. Those are matters relating to security. There is a problem of wars that we all know about, and Kenya has been contributing troops to many of these countries. Of course, these troops are contributed and many people just read of the decisions made from the media. However, when legislators and policymakers meet to chart the way forward, that co-operation becomes more meaningful. I can assure you that Kenya is held dearly and highly as a country that has contributed to the peace and security of the region. I know that the DRC will sooner or later approach us for assistance in training some of their police officers and other peace-keeping people within their internal security arrangement. At this juncture, I would like to once again reiterate my support in seconding this Motion. I would also like to urge the House to give it equal support and to adopt both the Reports and the input that was made by the Chairman. With those few remarks, I beg to second. 1396 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 14, 2006"
}