Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 467670,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/467670/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 157,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kajwang",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 164,
        "legal_name": "Gerald Otieno Kajwang",
        "slug": "otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "I think the Chair knows and could have made a ruling himself. What has just been said by the first speaker about Nairobi managing 65 per cent of the economy of this country, leave alone the revenue generated, should not be considered to be a passing matter. We love Nairobi; in fact, we want it to grow even more but if you went to other countries that have developed, you will find that in every city, there is something going on. If you go to Germany, Berlin is not necessarily the largest city but there is something going on in Stuttgart, there is something going on Bonn and in all other cities and states. For that reason, if wealth is distributed, employment is also distributed. Not everybody goes to Berlin to look for a job. Most times, you will not get a job there but you will get it in Bonn or Stuttgart. This is because they decided from the word go to develop their country evenly. They developed cities in almost every state and even some states have several cities. That did not come as an accident but it was deliberate. That is why we started this long road to devolution. We must develop our cities all over the country. We must develop a city in Isiolo, Lamu, Garissa and so on as we are now trying to develop because the great railway line is going to pass through Garissa and we must also develop Busia and Kisumu so that people can feel as if they are in their country. This will enable people to travel and enjoy whichever part of the country one wants to go to. If you are an observer or for those who travel, you will notice that when you earn your money in Nairobi, most of it remains in Nairobi, and there is little you can do about that. Most of the money you earn here is also spent here, other than the little you travel with to spend for one or two days away from Nairobi. You spend it on your rent, fuel, food, matatu fare and everything else. Essentially, what we are trying to do--- Unless we develop industries in other parts of this country deliberately, Nairobi will suck up this country. It has already sucked it up in such a way that it is already congested. We are already feeling like we are oppressed in our own city. You cannot move and you cannot walk. Sooner or later, we are going to find Nairobi very unmanageable just like I found Mexico City very unmanageable. It is not good for that country and it cannot be good for us. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the Division of Revenue Bill, that is where you determine how you want the country to go. The County Allocation of Revenue Bill is what you do after you have now gotten the cake and now you are distributing it between Homa Bay and Lamu. So, to suggest that this Senate will not deal with and will not have power over the entire revenue at the point of division is to make this Senate irrelevant and I said it earlier. Even if you make as loud protestations as you wish, this is a fact. Sooner or later, the people who elected you will be asking what the Senate does for them. When we were being elected, the thinking of the people who voted for us is that we are going to determine how much revenue goes to them. Now, it is not that way. It is the National 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."
}