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{
    "id": 384133,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/384133/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 140,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "June 19, 2013 SENATE DEBATES 21 Sen. Sang",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I stand to support the amendment. All the Senators who have contributed before me have raised concerns with regard to the component of county governments. I want to agree with them as we had raised before that the provision of ICT services in this country is a responsibility of the national government. Understanding the serious challenges that the county governments continue to face or are likely to face right now with regard inadequate resources, this House would not be in order and it would be a great disservice to the counties if you ask them to shoulder an extra responsibility with regard to provision of ICT services and to partner with private service providers. Therefore, with this amendment, we are able to achieve what we want to do for this nation, that is, to ensure that members of the public across the country are able to access mobile services. Mobile services in this country come with internet facilities. We are talking about e-government facilities in this country. It is unfortunate that major parts of this country still cannot access internet services. Right now, mobile service providers are the greatest internet providers in this country. Therefore, as we continue to enhance mobile connectivity in this country, we are able to support the citizens of this country to access internet facilities. The other component which was mentioned by the Mover of this Motion, is that we have M-pesa services provided by some of the mobile service providers. This is one of the services that is useful and critical in the lives of ordinary Kenyans in the villages. Very few Kenyans in the villages are able to operate bank accounts, but with the mobile money transfer services that exist in this country, many of our residents in our counties are able to access and to interact with services like M-pesa and various others provided by other service providers. It is important that we are able to provide an enabling environment where we are able to discuss and agree that the Government needs to carry out urgent steps to ensure that wananchi and members of the public are able to get these services. We all agree that mobile service provision in this country is unequal. It is very difficult in this country as I speak right now that when you go to a place like Nairobi County, there is network, but when you go to counties in the northern part of this country, it is not there. We were in Turkana last week and we could not communicate with other parts of this country. You might remember some of the phrases by members of the public in Turkana who consider themselves as if they are not part of this country. It is very important to, at the very least, provide mobile facilities to all Kenyans in this country so we are able to communicate and reach out to them as part of ways of ensuring that there is economic empowerment in this country. I, therefore, support the amendment, especially in ensuring that we are able to exclude any financial responsibility or burden to the county government and be able to put this financial responsibility on the national Government in order to ensure that it discharges its own constitutional mandate of providing ICT services in this country. With those few remarks, I beg to support the amendment."
}