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{
    "id": 253251,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/253251/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 231,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Raila",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 195,
        "legal_name": "Raila Amolo Odinga",
        "slug": "raila-odinga"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is time we stopped dealing with the symptoms and addressed the real causes of this problem. I do not agree with the hon. Member who has just spoken that the main cause is revenge. That is one of the symptoms. The major cause of this problem is the extreme poverty of the people living in this area as a result of which there is competition for the limited resources that are available. It is because of many years of neglect of this particular region. In the olden days when we were in school, we used to draw a straight line running from Turkana District on the Ugandan border right through to Lamu District. We just used to refer to this area as the Northern Frontier District (NFD). That was not, as far as the colonialists were concerned, part of Kenya. The successive governments since that time have perpetuated that under- development. There has been very little investment in development. Last year we visited the region and we launched the marshal plan for the entire region. Unfortunately, very little has been done since that time. So, poverty is one major cause because there is no infrastructure. These people cannot even access markets for their livestock. As a result of this, the cycle of poverty continues. The other issue is because the northern parts of Kenya and the southern parts of Ethiopia are neglected. That whole section is equal to the entire Kenya. There is very little activity going on in as far as development is concerned. Therefore, there are bandits roaming all over the place. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was saddened when I saw an Ethiopian Government representative on the television saying that it was some Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) elements who were roaming around and causing havoc in this part of the country. The Ethiopian Government is unable to control bandits in its country. What the Kenyan Government should tell the Ethiopian Government is, if it is not capable of curbing insecurity in that region, then we should go to the United Nations. We should ask for a UN peace keeping force in this region, so that peace can be restored. It is clear that the Ethiopian Government has completely given up. We have seen the representative of its Government saying that it is OLF causing insecurity. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Ethiopia has no right to allow its own bandits to come into Kenya, cause havoc and kill our people with impunity. If this insecurity is allowed to prevail we will have no country left. Therefore, our own Government must carry out proper negotiations with the Ethiopian Government, and send out a very clear and strong statement. We should not allow this to happen. I know that this cannot happen in other countries where Governments care for the lives of their people. It only happens here, because there is an attitude that it is in the former Northern Frontier District (NFD). We must say that if the Government is not capable of restoring peace, then it has no business being in power. It should resign. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I know that very many hon. Members want to contribute to this Motion. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}