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{
    "id": 250703,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/250703/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 235,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the truth of the matter is: If we had harnessed the Tana River and the other rivers, these people who died in northern Kenya would not have died. However, what happened to the Bura Irrigation Scheme which they started? It was looted to the bones! What do you expect? It was thoroughly and completely abandoned by the Government. I am saying this because that is much of the same thing of poor distribution of resources. I am not even talking of the roads because it is very expensive. Probably we are not going to ask the CDF Committee to do the roads but this is the responsibility of the Government; at least to be able to do so because some of the roads in some of these areas are cattle, sheep, goat or camel tracks. They are not roads! There are roads that are so important in some of these areas that are not made. So, I am saying that this fair equitable distribution of resources must continue and must be seen not only to be done in the CDF but also in the main Budget. In the other examples we had here the other day of water resource distribution, it is true that in the Budget some districts were given only Kshs5 million while some other district probably which has got water was given Kshs500 million. This is unfair and unjust. It is a poor distribution of resources. We are all Kenyans and we deserve equal distribution of resources. The people who need more assistance are those who lack various resources and facilities. It is the sick who require medicine. It is the people who do not have water who require it. We cannot allocate more funds for water projects in areas where there is plenty it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the National Management Committee (NMC) of CDF for a well-done job. The NMC has been very fair. They need to be lauded. They include some officials of Parliament here. They have performed very well. We should all thank them because they have not interfered with CDF projects. Democracy demands that citizens participate fully in their development. The CDF has started it very well. The District Project Committees are representatives of the people. They pass on information to the citizens who know that they are supposed to participate in the development of their areas. However, we must be careful, so that this money is utilised properly. There have been a lot of complaints in the newspapers about how we spend CDF money. We should be responsible, so that this money is properly spent. I would not hesitate to suggest that the committee members and even hon. Members of Parliament in some of these areas where there is suspicion that money has been misappropriated, should be investigated. If necessary, they should be punished. This is the truth of the matter because we cannot go on yelling on both sides of the House, \"get Ministers sacked\" when we are spending CDF money wrongly, as if it belongs to us. This money does not belong to us, but it belongs to the public. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other issue I wish to stress is that the Minister for Finance must strengthen his Budget position properly. I do not like the idea of him or other officers in his Ministry saying: \"After all, we do not need donor funding. It does not help us and it is of no use.\" That is blatant arrogance. That money goes all the way to support our Budget. We have been having budget support all these years. When we say we do not want any donor funding, it means that we will reduce the Budget. If we do so, we will affect development projects in this country. When there is no money and we refuse to re-consider some budgetary allocation from the donors, 908"
}