Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 492119,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/492119/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 55,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ng’ongo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. Hon. Deputy Speaker, let me, first of all, congratulate hon. Ochieng for bringing a Motion that touches on a significant population of his constituency. While supporting the Motion, I want to share with you an experience I had in 2007. You remember the chaos that followed party nominations and the subsequent confusion regarding presentation of papers to the electoral body. In 2007, I was supposed to present my nomination papers before the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), as the electoral body was known then. At around midday, I got wind that although I had a valid certificate certifying my nomination as the ODM candidate for Gwassi parliamentary seat, there was another person who also had an ODM certificate. I did not know how he had managed to also get a certificate then, but we have since learned how such certificates are acquired. Therefore, I was forced to make a quick move to catch a Nairobi-bound flight at Kisumu to be able to present my papers to the ECK the following day. I was very late, having been caught up in traffic jam. The flight was almost taking off. I had to look for alternative means. I took a boda boda to the airport. Had I not taken the boda boda transport, I would probably not have been a Member of the Tenth Parliament. The point I am trying to emphasise is how the boda boda subsector has become important in our lives. I realise that a good percentage of my constituents depend, either directly or indirectly, on the boda boda industry. The industry has become so important that the Government cannot afford to ignore it any further. As I was going through an Uwezo Fund application and approval forms after my committee was done with the approvals, I realised that one group that had managed to get the highest allocation, based on its bank statement, was actually one of the boda boda groups – Sindo Ragwe BodaBoda Group. This group is being awarded a good allocation from Uwezo Fund not for anything else, but because they have been able to save a significant amount of money. As a matter of fact, they have saved Kshs200,000 in their bank account. To me, that is not a mean achievement. In my constituency, I have taken stock of the people who have registered as members of boda boda groups – those who own motorcycles and those who are operating motorcycles on behalf of others. They are about 500. This is an industry you cannot ignore. We know the problems that we face in this country with regard to unemployment. The moment we get a sector that is able to absorb a significant part of our population, especially the youth, we need to encourage its growth, so that it can employ more people. I am talking about direct employment. There is indirect employment associated with the 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."
}