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"speaker_name": "Mrs. Kihara",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to applaud His Excellency the President's Address. There are many good things that the President said. However, we can only recognise them if we are honest enough. Regarding the famine that is biting this country, the Government has done a lot. I say so because the constituency I represent was affected by drought, but the Government came to its aid. Concerning water projects, as a Member of the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) Committee, having gone round this country, I know how much the Government has done as pertains to boreholes and other water projects. This is a big step forward because there are areas that never had any water projects before the introduction of the CDF. It is unfortunate that leaders do not talk about the development projects that have been going on in this country. They only talk about politics. Kenyans are fatigued, exhausted and choked by politics. It has come to a point, in this country, when some leaders think that unless they talk ill of the Government, Kenyans will not hear them. For instance, recently, there is a time when there were issues that leaders thought needed to be discussed, and that the President needed to open Parliament. However, when the date of reopening was gazetted, the same leaders declared that there was no need to reopen Parliament. Those are the kind of politics we are having in this country. As much as we have been reminded about the kind of work that is ahead of us, and the Bills we have to pass, there are leaders who are out to see that it does not happen, yet they were elected by people. That is dishonesty on the part of those leaders. An hon. Member talked about the recent appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of Kenyatta University. It is everybody's knowledge that the appointment of a vice-chancellor is not done by the Government, but by a senate. I feel saddened when someone says that the lady who got that job did not deserve it. The kind of leadership we are offering this country is not good. We have become very tribal. A Kenyan woman being appointed a vice-chancellor of a university, the first one for that matter, is an achievement to Kenyan women. We applaud and congratulate her. Leaders in this country have been dwelling on tribalism. That is unfortunate because some children who are in school today, do not even know which tribes they belong to. Kenyans are not interested in tribalism any more. That can be ascertained by the way Kenyans came out in large numbers to assist during the recent collapse of a building in Nairobi, where many Kenyans were 84 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 23 March, 2006 hurt. The biggest tribalists of this country are the leaders themselves and not those who are led. It is unfortunate when an honourable Member stands up to castigate the Government he has served, criticising it on issues which he did not criticise when he was a Minister. That can be compared to an estranged husband who goes talking about his wife because they have separated. That is mannerless and not fair. Those are issues that the former Minister should have talked about when he was still serving in the Government. There is so much we need to address as a country and as leaders. It is not fair for one not to talk about some issues when he is in his own house, but talk about them when he visits his girlfriend's house. People who have been serving in this Government, but are now in the Opposition, are talking ill of the Government. I think it is not right. Let us be honest and fair if we really mean to give Kenyans good leadership. There is need to say that the road network in this country has improved and everyone has seen that. There is a lot of money from the CDF and from the Exchequer that has been used. There is work on the ground that people can see. For heaven's sake, could we work for Kenyans, be honest and stop politicking? Kenyans now know who wants what. If we keep on struggling for power and making people believe that if we are not in power then no one else should be, it is not fair or right; it is dishonesty. There are many dispensaries that have come up. My plea to the Government is to avail staff to the dispensaries that have been put up using CDF. The Government should also avail teachers to schools which have come up, because they have no teachers. In fact, the Government has not been hiring teachers. Even when we are told that the Government is hiring, it is only trying to replace those who have retired. In the real sense, there is no hiring of teachers. There are so many schools which are hit by the shortage of teachers. I remember in one constituency where they have constructed 11 new primary schools, which means we need more teachers. Can we be honest and assist? This is our country and we are the shareholders. There is no way we can be proud of ourselves when this country is going to the dogs. This country belongs to all Kenyans and the shareholders of this company called Kenyan are all Kenyans. If our country goes to the dogs, none of us will be spared. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, once more, I plead with hon. Members to show Kenyans the way and to lead in the dialogue. Can we stop castigating anything the Government does just because we are sitting on the other side of the House? It is not fair or right to do so. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know that there was a referendum, and people tend to think that it was a general election or they think that, that is the way to go. There is nobody who can fool Kenyans any more. We hope that the new Constitution will be in place so that we can give Kenyans another subject to talk about. We cannot continue to talk about the same thing everyday while some of us are not prepared to facilitate it or to see it go through. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of famine, we just heard that the relief food that has been distributed to famine victims came from our farmers. This is a very positive move and these people now know why they should farm. With these few remarks, I beg to support."
}