HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 254810,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/254810/?format=api",
"text_counter": 308,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Ochilo-Ayacko",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 347,
"legal_name": "Ochilo George Mbogo Ayacko",
"slug": "ochilo-ayacko"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I listened attentively to Dr. Kituyi, who has given a very impressive speech in response to His Excellency the President's Address. But that speech is very applicable to the Governments side. I say so because the polarised nature of politics in this country has arisen because of vitriol and hate that is emanating from Government Benches. You do not expect patriotism from the public that is treated in a very dictatorial manner. You know very well that in order to inculcate love, you must also show love. In order to inculcate dialogue, you must also practise dialogue. This side of the House has severally requested the other side of the House to be more bipartisan in its approach. But what have we received in return? We have been snubbed, even in the formation of the Committee of Eminent Persons. I do not think that anybody on this side of the House has been asked anything about it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the use of abusive language by leaders is spoiling the international image of this country. A lot of this has come from the Government side. But when we go beyond our borders we all become losers as Kenyans. Out there, I do not think the people we interact with care whether we have a quarrel with one another or not. They all know Kenya as a quarrelsome nation that does not deserve proper investments. We were in this House this afternoon and heard hon. M. Kariuki say that he had no idea whether certain things were happening in this country. There are several things going on in this country that are wrong. If there was honesty and commitment on the part of some of us to find solutions to these problems, we would have had them. I also wish to say that when I listened to His Excellency the President's Address, I thought it ought to have been delivered in 2003, because it expressed a lot of optimism. It presupposed that there will be sufficient time to achieve some of the issues and bench marks that it set out. But, unfortunately, we are in the late afternoon of the term of this Government and Parliament. A lot of the things that His Excellency the President talked about are unlikely to see the light of the day because of the amount of time we are using fighting one another. I want to say that most us, including those in the Government, are products of freedom of the Press. We are products of the freedom of speech. When all of us were on this side of the House, the public out there was able to hear us very clearly because the Press was on our side. The Press told the truth about what we said all the time. I believe that what happened to the Press was sad, and in particular the incident that involved the Standard media group. I do not want to dwell on what may be going on in court. If there were certain things that the Standard media group was about to publish that would have been injurious to somebody, it should have been dealt with differently. The kind of action that was meted out to the Standard media group actually dented the entire image of this country as far as our belief in Press freedom is concerned. Perhaps, it would have been dealt with by bringing out the truth against to the untruth it intended to tell, so that truth would have competed with untruth. It would have been dealt with by way of talking to people who advertise in it. It would have been dealt with by way of other forms of administrative action that we did not take. But, unfortunately, we took that route and we have to live by the scar it resulted in. I also want to say that when His Excellency the President assumed office, he repeatedly said that he was a believer in the rule of law. But there are many incidents of breach of the rule of law that are seen happening. An example is what happened to the Governor of the Central Bank. The same could happen to the Attorney-General, who enjoys security of tenure. Somebody may 306 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 4, 2006 drag him to court and then he may have to be suspended from his office. I think it is important to make laws, follow them and define everything we do on the basis of what the law says. If we do things otherwise, then we court a chaotic situation. There are matters that we put very loudly in our manifesto, particularly, regarding our farmers. The economy of this country still remains dependant upon what the farmers of this country do. We said, in our manifesto, that NARC would ascertain that farmers get what is rightfully theirs and commensurate to their sweat. I talk on behalf of sugarcane farmers. I know that there has been an attempt to forgive a certain debt related to the millers. I know that Nzoia Sugar Company has had that benefit. However, we are forgiving debts of companies that belong to the Government. For instance, I represent Sony Sugar Company. Sony Sugar Company owes farmers nearly Kshs200 million. The company is 98 per cent owned by the Government. In fact, in law, it is right to say that it is the Government that owes the farmers Kshs200 million. A company that is 98 per cent owned by the Government actually belongs to the Government. The farmers we are talking about are small peasant farmers who cannot go about their business because they are owed a lot of money. So, the promise that was loudly made in the manifesto of NARC, that contributed to the vanquishing of KANU, has not been delivered the way it was supposed to be. It is not just important to forgive the debts that farming institutions owe. It is important to reinvest in companies that attend to farmers' needs, for instance, by putting aside Kshs5 billion and giving it to the relevant institutions that can serve farmers. That way, the farmers would be able to pay taxes being sought very desperately by our present Government. I believe that it is through taxes that we will develop and not through the gifts we get from our donor friends. In his Address, the President said that 72 per cent of Kenyans are below the age of 30. If that figure is correct, is it truly reflected in the Government's recruitment and appointment of senior officers of the Civil Service, which is headed by a retiree and other several retired Permanent Secretaries? I think if statistics are to influence our decisions and our service to our people, it is important to make sure that the democracy of this country reflects in the appointments we give in Government and allocation of the resources of this country. Otherwise, the Government may go on record as the Government which deprived the youth of this country an opportunity to benefit from the taxes and services they give. When the President and other leaders like hon. Michuki started serving this country, they were fairly youthful. Why can they not give an opportunity to youthful people to head the Civil Service and also serve as Permanent Secretaries and be chairpersons the same way they benefited? How did they acquire experience at that time when they started being leaders? I think we should be honest to the people who put us in our positions and serve them as fairly as we can. With those many remarks, I beg to support."
}