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{
    "id": 407349,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/407349/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 426,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) F.I. Ali",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13152,
        "legal_name": "Fatuma Ibrahim Ali",
        "slug": "fatuma-ibrahim-ali"
    },
    "content": "The other reason why I strongly oppose this Bill is the amendment to the Public Benefits Organizations Act. I am really disturbed that a Government which is supported by the civil society on a large scale wants to reduce their external funding to 15 per cent. I thought this Government would appreciate the efforts of the civil society, especially its contribution and great work. This Constitution we are proud of is as a result of the efforts of the civil society. We said that Kenyans had enacted the best and most progressive Constitution in the world. The struggle for this Constitution was by the civil society, whose operations we now curtail. This country is experiencing difficulties in funding devolution and other public service deliverables. If this, indeed, is the proposal of the Government, honestly, this Government is experiencing serious challenges in terms of funding the devolved Government. I thought this would be the time for the Government to appreciate the civil society and expand opportunities and space for the civil society, so that they can tap into external resources. I come from the former North Eastern Province, where the presence of Government is very thin. The presence of the civil society, however, is very strong. Reducing and capping access to resources by the public benefits organizations to 15 per cent means paralyzing delivery of services. I am saying this because some areas in the former North Eastern Province have been neglected for too long. The saviour we had was the public benefits organizations. We are worried that the next move is to disband the operations of NGOs in this country. At one time the Government completely disbanded most of the charitable organizations, which were being funded by Muslim institutions and external Islamic organizations. I can tell you that Muslim schools, madrasa and other charitable organizations are paralyzed. The schools are dead because the Government is not funding them. Muslim donors have been labeled terrorists yet they were doing charitable and noble work to support the poor in northern Kenya. If we are not careful and we do not use the strength of Jubilee, we will The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}