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"id": 282373,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/282373/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. M.H. Ali",
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"speaker": {
"id": 81,
"legal_name": "Mohamed Hussein Ali",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I wish to commend our President, hon. Mwai Kibaki, for the excellent Speech he made in this House. Of course, it cannot address all the issues. He could not have dealt with all the issues he wanted in such a short time. One of the things that he talked about, which I agree with him, is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). I believe this is the greatest thing that happened in the tenure of the President. This is the first time since Independence that allocations of up to Kshs100 million reached some parts of this country, including North Eastern Province and for that matter, Mandera County. This money has made a lot of difference in that region. Before the CDF, we had no schools, dispensaries, health centers or hospitals. We also did not have other facilities like boreholes and other necessary facilities in the area. Through the CDF, we have been able to construct, particularly in my constituency, over 25 schools consisting of primary and secondary schools. We have also done more than 20 dispensaries in Mandera East Constituency alone with the same Fund. The only problem that we have right now is lack of personnel. If the Government would have deployed the necessary staff in those schools, then the enrolment would have been much higher than it is now. The other thing that the President introduced during his time is the Free Primary Education (FPE). We thank him for introducing that programme because quite a number of young people have accessed education. However, the problem, as I have said earlier on is that despite building schools, we have a serious shortage of teachers and equipment. Free Primary Education alone should not only consist of giving free exercise books and text books. It must also go with the provisions of equipment and infrastructure because the CDF cannot do justice to all the requirements in the constituency; it cannot cater for the entire infrastructure in the constituencies. I believe that the Free Primary Education should also have gone alongside with the provision of equipment and infrastructure. All the same, I can say that during this President’s tenure, we have realized Free Primary Education and enrolment has gone up even in North Eastern Province. However, we have not achieved the level of enrolment that we really want to achieve in that province. Right now, the enrolment of children in school in North Eastern Province is less than 40 per cent whereas in some parts of this country it is almost 100 per cent. So, you can understand that disparity. Our young people are languishing in that region. You will find a number of parents taking their children to schools but due to lack of facilities, they are turned back. Those children are not accepted because you will find a class of over 100 pupils being taught by one teacher from 7.00 a.m. up to around 5.00 p.m. How can that teacher give quality education to those children? He cannot attend to over 100 children. These are the problems that we have raised and we want the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance to ensure that enough teachers are employed so that they can address those problems in order for us to get value for Free Primary Education. On roads, the President said that during his time, he has done over 2,700 kilometres of tarmac road and over 4,000 kilometres of road were rehabilitated. Out of this, what has North Eastern Province gained? In Mandera County, not a single inch of tarmac road has been done. When it comes to rehabilitation, I do not think that there is 100 kilometre of road that has been done between Mandera and Ramo. Even that road was not done properly. Yes, we appreciate that Kshs700 million will not be able to cater for this country. Since Independence, North Eastern Province has never had a good road. It is only from Garissa to Modekare that something in a range of 10 kilometres was tarmacked. Therefore, North Eastern Province has not had its share. As hon. Members representing Mandera, Wajir and Garissa, we wish to ask this Government to do justice and ensure that we also get our share in terms of roads. Without roads we cannot access facilities in Nairobi. Nairobi is about 1,200 kilometres from Mandera. So, how do you expect traders from Mandera to do reasonable business? The price of fuel is very high in Nairobi. It is even higher in Mandera. So, the cost of transport in Mandera is double the price of Nairobi. So, you can imagine the kind of development that we can do there. When a classroom in Nairobi or other areas can be built using about Kshs400,000 in Mandera, you will require about Kshs1,000,000 just to do one classroom because of the cost of transportation. These are the kinds of problems that we are talking about."
}