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    "id": 346009,
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    "content": "forms that you fill are too long and complicated and you wonder what they are looking for. It is managed by a monopoly or a cartel of people who are sometimes completely out of touch with reality. There are also issues about the distribution of who gets the honours in this country. Hon. Millie has spoken about the gender issue. There are few women--- It is disproportionately full of men as if women have not done anything. It also depends on people who are in power with regard to their geographical distribution. There are areas of this country where a few Kenyans from those areas, irrespective of what they have done, have been honored because power and the location of the people in power determines a great deal of that. There is also the issue of the physically challenged, youth and so on. The other problem is that there is no objectivity and as a result, it is open to corruption. First, you leave out Kenyans who should have been honoured a long time ago, for example, Kenyans in the Opposition. If we did not have Kenyans in the Opposition since 1992, many of the gains that we have seen in this country would not have happened but nobody cares about them. So, the really change is not the people of the status quo but it is the people who have contributed to this country, including those who were in the first and second liberations. However, a few of them have received any honours from the sitting authorities. So, we leave out such kind of people and also academics, for example, top students. If you were number one student in KCPE or KCSE, nobody thinks about you yet, in a country like the USA, top mathematicians are actually honoured by the President. This is because we want to encourage young people in primary and secondary schools to continue to excel but we do not think about them. There are other small people like a primary school teacher who makes a big difference in terms of performance of a student in KCPE or KCSE. Those people are never thought about and yet, they make a greater contribution than the many others that we honour. I agree that the process should be open. We should involve professionals. There should be public vetting including putting those names on the internet and asking Kenyans to say what they know about the characters that are being suggested for honoring by the Government. This will ensure that there are people of integrity. I know of a colleague of mine who refused to wear the badge that he got because he said that he did not want to be honoured alongside hyenas. It must be clear that you are honouring people of really honour. In this regard, therefore, if you find Kenyans who have been associated with big scandals and they are out there being honored irrespective of how much damage they have caused this country, I think there are issues about--- What are we telling our children? Are we telling them that those are the best examples that they should emulate? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to argue that if you have been recognized after being vetted, then it can also be one of the requirements for people who stand for public office, including elective offices. Those people should also go with the privileges and conditions we have been told about. Finally, because the whole process has been abused since the 50 years of Independence, I am for those who argue for the recall or revocation of appointments of people who do not meet the criteria that will be set after this Bill is enacted. It does not"
}