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{
    "id": 248057,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/248057/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 240,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kagwima",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 286,
        "legal_name": "Francis Nyamu Kagwima",
        "slug": "francis-kagwima"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. From the outset, I support this Motion. The hon. Member who spoke earlier is new in the House. So, I would beg the House to forgive him and proceed in supporting this Motion. Districts are the units of development in this country. In 1986 when the Focus for Rural Development was initiated, that formed the basis of using the districts as the units of development and, therefore, the foundation of the District Development Committees (DDCs). To date, that is the mechanism we have in place for developing this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in 1988 when I was first elected to Parliament, we had Meru District. I attended the DDC meetings without failure. But I found it difficult to get even one project approved for Tharaka Constituency. Tharaka Constituency would be listed last in terms of priority. A financial year would go without any project being implemented. I realised after one year that I was wasting my time in that DDC. I then pleaded with the leadership of the Meru to split Meru District into two. It took the entire leadership and population four years of pleading to have it done. Then, in 1992, Meru District was divided into Meru and Tharaka-Nithi districts. It is then that we started seeing some change and development in the newly created district. We went to ask for further sub-division and we got Tharaka District. The little development that is in that region is out of that creation. People living there can now see the difference between the time they did not have a district and now that they have one. I know the people in leadership today at one time felt uncomfortable with the creation of the districts. But I am happy to appreciate the fact that after taking over power, they learnt and realised that those districts were not created just politically. They were created out of the request by the people living in those marginalised areas. So, I would like to urge the House to support this Motion and quickly appeal to the Minister to bring in the mechanism that is required to ensure that all districts are properly entrenched in the Kenya laws. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, recently people in other areas, including those from Mr. Munya's constituency, appealed to the Government to allocate them districts. As I speak, we have Tigania East and Tigania West. I do not know whether that is not in conflict with the speech that the hon. Member made. So, Ijara, Tharaka, Suba and other districts are a necessity to the communities living there. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support. June 7, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1183"
}