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{
    "id": 419561,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/419561/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 255,
    "type": "other",
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    "content": "corruption today, we will discuss it until two weeks are over because it needs to be properly addressed and that will take a lot of time. I really appreciate the summary given by Sen. Billow. One thing is certain; when the President is elected and a huge lot of money is used, that money must come from somewhere. We know that it came from the people who invested in the presidency knowing very well that when it succeeds, they must get something back. They get this something back through contracts, kickbacks and forward backs. So, this is what is happening. If it was necessary at this point in time that this money, therefore, was going to the university to pay the university lecturers needed to be diverted to give attention to these investors in the electoral process, then of course, it goes. One of the things that we have to look at in this nation is whether we are really running an electoral system which is going to enhance democracy and reduce corruption. As far as I can tell, presidential systems are a disaster to Africa. They are a big disaster. It is much better to have Parliamentary systems which are much more accountable. They would be less prone to presidents being held hostage by investors with big money and, therefore, enhancing corruption. So, when we have the robust debate on corruption, this is one of the things that I would like to advance, but I do not want to deal with that today. That is just to underscore the point that Sen. Billow was making. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the point I want to make today is about the financing of education in this country. Somebody did a summary the other day on the budgeting system in this country and came to the conclusion that the three areas which need a lot of budgetary allocation and which are thoroughly under-funded are health, education and security. If you look at Kenya today, these are the three areas where we are having most problems. A lot of money goes to such things as the National Intelligence Service (NIS) which is part of security, but a vague area of security. The security that concerns that common man is the police and so on. That is the area where we have had a lot of problems for decades. One of the things that we should address in this Senate is the financing of education, particularly higher education. In more civilized societies, universities are usually funded through Boards of Trustees. These are people who know how to invest in higher education and how to safeguard money meant for running universities. They even come up with ways and means on how to create investments with the university itself so that the university need not look at the Government every year for pennies to run itself. We could shift our focus a little and liberate the universities from this annual dependence on Government by finding a way of putting money under the trust of a Board of Trustees to run universities. When I moved the Presidential Retirement Benefits Bill in Parliament in 1998, I was mob lynched because I was proposing something that was really outlandish, but in the end, it was adopted. Why was I proposing it? I wanted us to have Presidents who make a lot of money, so much so that when they retire, they do so in comfort and then they use their wealth to create things like chairs in the universities. Moi should be the chair of physical sciences, Kibaki should be the chair of economic studies and something like that, so that this wealth that they have earned from being in public office can be used for public good. I am quite sure that there are many other business persons in this country 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."
}