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{
    "id": 41189,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/41189/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 313,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Transport",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me begin by thanking the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, together with his staff, for working all long hours and delivering to us the Ministerial Statement that was delivered here yesterday. It seems to have put the country in some state of calm as the people now know where we are going. As I said before, Kenya is a market leader in East Africa. Yesterday, members of the public expected the Government to tell them where we were and where we were going in terms of the economy and the related issue of cost of living. As people went to bed yesterday, they felt good because they, at least, knew where we stood in terms of the cost of fuel. They felt good that they knew what would happen to all the promises that had been made in terms of the reduction of the price of fuel. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am aware that all these matters will come out clearer in the detailed discussions in the Committee, where wananchi will have an opportunity to participate. I am also aware that once the Committee reports come back to us, we will have an opportunity to debate these issues further. It is, however, important that we also remember that participation of the people, as envisaged in the Constitution, does not exclude the participation of Members of Parliament, who represent the people in this House. There is no better forum for the people to participate other than through their representatives in this House. That is why we are paid as Members of Parliament. We are paid to come and participate in the debate on the Financial Statement, so that people do not discuss the issues contained therein through interviews conducted by the media, and engage in discussions in other forums out there. We should discuss these matters on the Floor of this House to establish what the views of the people are on what the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance said here in his Ministerial Statement. I believe that we all listened very attentively. We are now very clear in terms of where we are going as a country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is important for Kenyans to appreciate the planning frameworks we are working on. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance alluded to the fact that we are looking at the global economic situation. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to just highlight some of the issues relating to what is happening in the transport sector."
}