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"id": 255818,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/255818/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Dr. Ali",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate. One speaker commented on the issues raised by the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). I think there is some truth in what he said because a Government Minister claimed that the Government might be associated with snakes. I think he should be allowed to come and do some gracing here. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is a lot of drought in this country. There are a lot of problems in this country. The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs has stated that the Ministry of Water and Irrigation is trying to do a good job but still there are a lot of problems. I think the President must have been misled to claim in his Speech that there are a lot of water bowsers in Wajir, Mandera and Garissa. I do not know whether they are on the way because they have not yet arrived. The Government should make an effort to bring them there very soon. You do not just go misleading the Kenyan public that there are over 10 water bowsers when there are three old, dilapidated water bowsers in Wajir District. I cannot blame the Ministry because they are doing their best, but the bowsers keep breaking down every day. I think that situation should be corrected. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, a Ministry of Youth Affairs has been created. It is unfortunate that the Minister has gone out of the Chamber. I do not know whether the Ministry now has a Permanent Secretary because even the Minister himself does not seem to have an office. Seventy- two per cent of Kenyans are supposed to be the youth. I do not think the Government has done anything to help the youth by creating this Ministry. Kenyans are very good at writing very good papers which when presented, everybody will applaud, but nothing is done after that. This is a very sad affair for Kenyans and I think the people in power should realise that. Do not give us good speeches. Give us something tangible on the ground that later, when you come back to Kenyans for votes, you will say: \"We have done this and that.\" I hope this time round the Ministry of Youth Affairs will be given enough money to assist the youth of this country. The Government should ensure that from now onwards, they employ people who are under 30 years of age instead of employing octogenarians who are tired and will not help this country at all. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of corruption, I think some action is being taken, but the Minister should step up her efforts so that we see some people in jail. We do not want to just hear stories. These people are all multi-billionaires. If you release them on a cash bail of Kshs10 million, they will comfortably pay it and stay outside jail for several years. Action should be taken against anybody who has stolen from this country. The region where I come from is suffering because of corruption and nepotism. If there was no corruption in Kenya, North Eastern Province or northern part of Kenya would not be the way it is now. If there was no nepotism we would not be where we are now. If all Kenyans are considered equal, then a Minister should employ a competent person from any region, instead of employing his relatives or people from his village. That is why I want to congratulate Kenyatta University for employing the first lady Vice- Chancellor in this country. She was employed on merit. This lady has been a researcher for many years. She has done a lot of good work. She and her husband have contributed in writing books to help research students of this country. When she was shortlisted, all the university staff said that she deserved to be given that chance. 23 March, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 67 When you go to the Public Service Commission (PSC) every commissioner wants a person from his or her village employed. Where the hell will my people get any chance for employment if this is the trend? This is the problem of Kenya. If we are serious, we should put politics aside and help the people of Kenya. So many people have lost between 70 to 80 per cent of their livelihood as a result of drought. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Mr. Angwenyi told me that he was in Egypt recently and they watched on the Cable News Network (CNN) television channel, a story of a girl who is 11 years but weighs six kilogrammes. She is from Garissa. The Egyptians claimed that they depend on the River Nile alone. They have never had substantive rain for the last 20 years, but they can still feed a population of 75 million. They wondered why somebody would die of hunger in Garissa when River Tana is not even a kilometre away. Let me pose this question to the hon. Members on the other side because they are now in Government. It does not matter what the hon. Members from this side of the House did when they were there. The responsibility is on you to make sure that no more Kenyans die of hunger. We have been told that several millions of shillings have been collected. If you compare the amount of fuel military vehicles consume and the relief food they carry, it is not commensurate. The amount of money which is used to fuel and repair those vehicles is more than what they carry. Is it worth it? Do our economists even think of what they are doing there? Is it rational to take a vehicle to a place when it is carrying less than what it consumes? The Minister of Livestock and Fisheries should make sure that people who have lost all their livestock get some funding to re-stock their animals so that they can survive and hopefully change their lifestyle. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we had the CDF meeting at Safari Park Hotel, I suggested that we be given an amount of money for re-stocking but this idea was rejected. If I was given that opportunity I would make sure that half of my money goes to re-stocking and my people would not die. The Act does not allow me to do that but the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries or the Minister for Special Programmes can do it through the livestock department. If these Ministers consider these things, they will have done a good job. I think we have had enough problems concerning the Constitution. We should learn from the mistakes we made in the past. I would like to urge Ms. Karua to convince the President to reconsider the issue of Eminent Persons. Even if they are very good, the issue has now turned political. It will tie down whatever we do later. We might go back to the days of the referendum. Are we being just to Kenyans? Are we doing what we are supposed to do for this country? I do not think so. Let us do what needs to be done. They are eminent persons, but where did the names come from? They came from the Government. What do the people on this side feel? \"These are banana people! These are politics! That is why people are there!\" They cannot avoid it. It is the truth and we need to say it. As the Speaker said, many Kenyans do not like the truth. The truth is bitter, but that is a fact of life. I know we can do it because it is not a very big issue."
}