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{
    "id": 252458,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/252458/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 251,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Kituyi",
    "speaker_title": "The Ministry of Trade and Industry",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 293,
        "legal_name": "Mukhisa Kituyi",
        "slug": "mukhisa-kituyi"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, if I have been discussing personalities, then I am wrong. But if I am discussing issues raised by persons, I am right. The analogy that \"hata mkia ni nyama\" is a statement by Mr. Raila that money is being spent on people who are heading departments being called Ministries. It is not about the character and person of Mr. Raila. But because he saw the difference, he did not raise any point of order. I hope you also start seeing the difference. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this country is at a critical moment. We cannot pretend that now we have gone through mourning, everything is fine. At a very personal level, when I look at a debate like this, I am sub-consciously waiting to hear Dr. Godana make his remarks. I feel a hollowness when I see that he is not at that space. But it was not for nothing that those hon. Members lost their lives. There is no virtue in perpetual settling of petty scores. There is a time for us to show our opposition with each other. There is time for us to rise to the challenge, not only to answer on national issues, but to redeem the credibility of Parliament. The public out there is wrongly thinking that Parliamentarians are sitting here intimidating the Government to give them more money for mileage. That is not in the Printed Estimates. We are not asking for any money from the Treasury to add to Parliament. If we are not able to speak with one voice to redeem and protect the stature and integrity of Parliament, they will believe that, that is actually the issue. If we find consensus and pass the Supplementary Estimates - which I hope we will do - they will believe that we have \"cut\" some deal about money for hon. Members. None of us can win if we look at the smaller issues, and forget about our responsibility to redeem the larger picture. The redemption of the larger picture is a collective statement from this House that: \"Yes, it is painful to forego some roads that we promised our own people. It is painful to forego some things that we promised as a developmental agenda. It is even possible to forego some of the benefits of enhanced Constituencies Development Fund (CDF).\" Those are the sacrifices that we have to make for citizens of this country in order for them not to go hungry. Those are sacrifices we have to make, so that our disciplined forces can keep the peace and silence the gun. They should be able to follow a prayer with firm action. That message gets drowned when we try to hit at each other. Even the message that Parliament is giving out, that there is something April 25, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 649 unfair about Ministerial allowances being transferred to the Vote of Parliament, we cannot afford to make that a partisan divide issue. We should say: \"Technically, this is wrong! The Minister for Finance, please reverse this as soon as possible!\" We can do that without saying that one side of this House has lost! Historically, in the 14 years that I have been here, the greatest moments of this House have not come when we have been be able to point out the weaknesses of each other. When we have been able to lower our voices, stop talking at each other and talk to each other and start taking collective decisions about what is necessary for us. We should say that procurement and financing of Government activities should be within the law. A clear signal that we are empathising with Kenyans who are starving today. The Government has to move about its business of going beyond prayer, to show that we cannot condone primitive and wanton violence that has led to the deaths of some of our cleverest hon. Members. To stop inventing new arguments about procedures that we were party in developing and justifying. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}