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{
    "id": 501604,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/501604/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 158,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Abdirahman",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 161,
        "legal_name": "Abdirahman Ali Hassan",
        "slug": "abdirahman-ali-hassan"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir for allowing me to contribute to this very important Bill. I want to thank Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo for proposing this Bill. The Bill is long overdue because the plight of reservists has not been addressed for a long time with regard to recruitment procedures and remuneration. From the outset, this Bill is a necessity. The Bill is not there because we want to recruit people, standardise their recruitment or give them good remuneration. It is a necessity because the UN estimates the police ratio to the population as one to 1,000 people. Therefore, there is a serious gap in terms of strength in this country. The principal Act envisaged people serving as the KPRs on voluntary basis. In my own understanding, serving on voluntary basis can only be done on a short term. This can only be done when you have an alternative to secure your livelihood. It is important that we develop a mechanism to ensure reliability in terms of remuneration, career progression and merit within the KPRs. The amendments that are proposed will definitely help us sort out the mess that we have had. The hierarchy in the police, up to the Commission level has completely ignored the plight of the KPRs. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, colleagues who spoke before me spoke very eloquently about the poor remuneration of these people because the principle Act said that they could be deployed on a short term basis when needed and could be paid a certain amount of allowance that is only determined by the Commission. It was not very clear. Therefore, it is imperative that we are sure of how much we want to pay these people on monthly basis. I listened to Sen. Karaba equating people from other regions to the Friesian cow that cannot live in the high humid areas. I wonder what Kenyans who do not come from the far flung difficult areas like Turkana, Kuria, Pokot, Wajir, Garissa, Mandera would be doing there. They would rather come back so that we recruit sufficient personnel if not in the regular and administration police, but a sufficient number of police reservists who can withstand the difficult terrain because they are ready to do that. I think there has been a serious imbalance. I am a Member of the Committee on Equal Opportunities. We questioned the Inspector-General of Police and his team when we were trying to look at the ethnic balance in the police service. This is very important because you do not need to recruit people who will not help you out later on. I have no problem with recruiting Kenyans in general, but we should recruit a sufficient number of people that can guarantee the security of people based on ethnic balance and merit. There was even a Senator who said that those were good warriors. I am happy to hear that because they are not good warriors causing insecurity, but good warriors in the enhancement of security in the country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the KPRs will be very instrumental because we have serious and emerging challenges in this country from terrorism to minor acts burglary. We have serious problems, not only in ASAL areas, but even in urban areas, including Nairobi, Mombasa and Lamu. All these areas can be secured if we recruit a sufficient number of police reservists, not on voluntary basis, but on full term employment with a clear vetting procedure with regard to their conduct, career progression through a standardized recruitment procedure of the KPRs. 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."
}