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"id": 254843,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Abdirahman",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Trade and Industry",
"speaker": {
"id": 161,
"legal_name": "Abdirahman Ali Hassan",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for allowing me to contribute to this Motion. I stand to support the Motion. However, before I make particular comments on the important issues contained in the Speech, I would like to make general comments on the on-goings in Parliament and, especially, how we have conducted ourselves over time as the representatives of the people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am sure Kenyans are very alert about the way hon. Members behave inside and outside the House. We dwell so much on issues that do not help Kenyans. We promote tribalism in this country. It is very unfortunate that, as leaders, we lead our people to vote along tribal lines. That is what we saw in the Referendum. We were not voting on issues! We were voting on tribal and personal interests. We engaged ourselves in political campaigns, instead concentrating on core issues of importance to this nation. As a result, we bred hatred and ethnic division. Our vision is now blurred. It is unfortunate that lawmakers can join traders who want to evade tax in a demonstration. We all know that Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has introduced Electronic Tax Registers (ETRs) to combat tax evasion. However, because some hon. Members wanted to gain political mileage, they joined the traders in a demonstration. That is a pity! Political capital is being sought in very unfortunate circumstances in this country. But I am sure Kenyans are very alert on that. We want a positive contribution to politics. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, just this afternoon, during Question Time, some hon. Members were talking about individual communities being targeted by the Government. It is not a question of individual communities, but individuals themselves. If you have done something wrong, whether you come from North Eastern Province, Central Province or Nyanza Province, you will be dealt with! We are not going to allow individuals to misuse the resources in this country. I, personally, do not see why we should defend any individual linked to any kind of corruption. The fact that we continue talking about tribalism causes more divisions in this country. I plead with my colleagues to vote on issues of development that will help this nation. If you think you can form the alternative Government, I am sorry that is not the way to behave. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I now want to comment on principal issues that were contained in the Presidential Speech which affect our lives. I will encourage disengagement from issues that are not of national significance to issues that will help this country. Listening to the Presidential Speech, it was observed that this House has only passed seven Bills out of 25 that were presented. If we were not engaging in non-issues, this House would have performed better. I have a feeling that we should concentrate on issues which are relevant and which will bring changes in the lives of Kenyans. We have noted that, in the last three years, quite a number of good development initiatives were undertaken by this Government among them the free primary education. We should be debating on how best we can access education to those who cannot do so including nomadic children. We expect this House to contribute to changes on policy issues in terms of shaping this country's destiny but we have dwelt a lot more on politics. If some hon. Members of this House continue dwelling on politics, I doubt if they will ever take up any leadership role because they cannot convince people. April 4, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 319 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a number of other important issues include the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). We should be debating on how to increase this money. We should be debating on how best we can improve decision-making from the grassroots to the national level and how best we can bring about good utilisation of this money including micro- finance and targeting important segments of this society including the youth and women. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have made steady progress in terms of economic performance and there is no doubt about that. It is very evident we have moved from 2.8 per cent to 4.3 per cent in 2004 and last year we made some 5 per cent progress. This is great and we need to capitalise on the opportunities that we have to be able to move this country forward. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on issues of drought, the President has declared it an emergency and national disaster. We appeal for more donor support since the Government has already done something. It is the first time in Kenyan history that we have had an ASAL development policy in this country. We never had it. Let us see what we can do to improve it further. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would want to comment a little more on the youth. It has been a good initiative to create the Ministry of Youth Affairs and the fact that we have a policy in place is a positive step. The youth comprise a huge percentage of our people in this country and I think it would be very important for us to explore more opportunities in which we can engage the youth including the polytechnics. The 8-4-4 system of education has self-reliance strategy in place and I am sure this Ministry can capture a lot. The youth do not require rhetoric; they want action. We do not want the youth to be misused because of our own political ends. Let us encourage the youth to be playing a more productive role to help the community. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, I would want to talk about corruption. We are not going to talk about corruption only now. Corruption has permeated in every segment of this society but it is an old thing in this country. It is not something that just started in 2003 but, as much as we will say we do not have to move backwards, the truth of the matter is that some of the social ills that are afflicting this country today did not start during this current Government. They started in another era before this one and the other one. So, what belongs to Kenya must be brought back in terms of resources whether it is land or cash. We will need that money to help Kenyans access medical treatment, education, veterinary care and have improved roads. That is what we really require. We should not politicise corruption. We do not have to do it because of tribal chauvinism. We do not have to talk about certain communities being targeted when it comes to corruption. I think we can only deal with corruption as a country; by doing it collectively. Not only those in the Government, but even those on the other side must shun corruption if we will have to make a difference in the lives of Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to urge both sides of the House to work as a team on issues that are of national concern. We should avoid issues that will not help Kenyans. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}