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{
    "id": 261883,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/261883/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 272,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Raila",
    "speaker_title": "The Prime Minister",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 195,
        "legal_name": "Raila Amolo Odinga",
        "slug": "raila-odinga"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member is asking me the impossible. He is asking me to tie the next Government to the programme that has been initiated. One can only hope that there will be goodwill in the next Government, and they will be able to continue the programme that has been initiated by this Government. I can assure the hon. Member that if I were to be the leader in the next Government, I would definitely continue this programme. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Dr. Nuh raised the issue of reform timelines. We, as a Government, have tried. However, there are areas where we have not lived up to the promises because of some difficulties which were not anticipated. The hon. Members need to appreciate the fact that these Bills or the legislations being brought before the House to implement the Constitution are being originated by the line Ministries. The line Ministries usually set up a task force because the Constitution talks of public participation. The public participates at different levels. The hon. Members need to appreciate that legislation being brought to this House here have gone through a lot of consultations with the members of the public. For example, if you look at the Devolution Bill that is now before the House, the Minister set up a task force that went around the country consulting the public. The task force also went to other countries all over the world to look how the other systems operate. It took the task force more than six months to compile the report. Likewise the Financial Management Bill also has involved a lot of wide consultations. It is because these are not Bills that can just be taken out of the shelf and then published, that is why they are taking too long. We have to apologize that some of them have not reached the Floor of the House on time. Hon. Members need to appreciate that there has been a very good reason why they took that long. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Lari asked about the slum dwellers. I am a Member of Parliament representing the largest slum in Africa, South of Sahara. That is Kibera slum. I, therefore, understand the plight of slum dwellers. Our people live in slums not through choice of their own, but it is because of the failure of the past Government to respond to the needs of our people. After Independence, very little was invested in terms of construction of low cost housing for the poor. The Government addressed the housing for the middle income in our society. The result was that as the rural urban migration increased and there was no formal settlement for them, the people responded by constructing informal structures. The Government then recognized them and they were called informal settlements. As I speak today, 60 per cent of Nairobi’s population lives in slums. It is a very high number. We cannot resolve this matter by merely using forceful eviction of people. It is"
}