Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 397741,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/397741/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 24,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 193,
        "legal_name": "Peter Anyang' Nyong'o",
        "slug": "peter-nyongo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to support this Motion moved by Sen. Kagwe. As I listened to him, I realized the downside of democracy in the sense that it is a very wasteful system because I think, having performed so well as the Minister for Communication and Information and having subsequently been the Chairman of the Communications University, he should actually have remained as the Chief Executive of the Communications Information in this country. Actually democratic systems like the one we have of rotating people so frequently has certain disadvantages because we end up wasting a lot of talent. We end up wasting skills, knowledge, collective memory and developmental resources. The kind of library he has in his head on this problem is a library that he should use almost constantly in that Ministry. I really felt that our system has a downside to it. Even if you look at this House, you will find that Sen. G.G. Kariuki, for example, when he was the Minister for Internal Security, he did a good job, although to some of us he was very destructive. But in terms of knowledge and contributing to that department, he was very good. So, democracy has a downside to it which is really very unfortunate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Sen. Kagwe has brought out a very important thing; the technology of spreading the fibre optic cable. He has described it very well. My problem is the end users; whether Governors, the County Representatives or even ourselves. We need to recognize the fibre cable when it arrives at our door and even understand the urgency with which to make use of it. I was going to propose to Sen. Kagwe that one of the things we should urge, is for us to go to the Multi Media University for one or two weeks to be taught and be told something about this thing called fibre optics and ICT because people merely talk about it. However, listening to Sen. Kagwe, it is something that lay men like ourselves need to pay a lot of attention to in a university that knows what it is talking about in a manner that Sen. Kagwe has got to dig into it and know it. One example which Sen. Kagwe gave and I got into it when I was the Minister for Medical Services, is this whole idea of tele-medicine. I think it is very important. You do realize that tele-medicine would revolutionize the cost of health care delivery. Tele- medicine would catapult us into the age of expertise in giving medical services beyond what we know today. We are complaining today that we have a shortage of doctors, but tele-medicine kind of jumps over that and makes us use the few human resources that we have in a much more cost effective manner. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will give you an example. By connecting the Nyeri Provincial Government Hospital with a hospital in Spain and Tenwek Missionary Hospital, the two hospitals would be connected to Spain. You realize that we have been doing eye surgery using Spanish experts without individuals having to be referred to Spain physically and having to spend lots of money on air tickets. Just through tele-medicine, two doctors, one sitting in Nyeri, another one sitting in Spain and a nurse sitting in Tenwek have been able The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}