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"id": 50549,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/50549/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Keynan",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 41,
"legal_name": "Adan Wehliye Keynan",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Members are consulting very loudly. I want to be given an opportunity to make my presentation. What I am trying to say is this: Positive change is something that we require. The current Constitution provides that we have the Kenyan defence forces, unlike previously. Therefore, it means that we want to strengthen the different units of our armed forces so that we have the best navy, air force and army in the world. For us to do that, and for the Ministry to continue attracting public finance, it is fair that this Act that we have provided is clearly separated. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, this does not jeopardize the national interests in any way. Let us not fear change, It does not, in any way, say the number of assets in the armed forces. No! We are not saying that we want to know the military techniques that they use. No! We are not saying that we want to know and let the public know the intelligence techniques that they use. No! What we are saying is that instead of having a one-man institution called the Chief of General Staff (CGS) in the headquarters, and this institution has over the years taken away powers from the field commanders, I want the air force commander to make prudent financial, administrative, institutional and technical decisions at that level. I want the army commander to make prudent institutional decisions tailor-made for the army at that level. I do not want the army commander to be a clerk of a one man institution at the headquarters. That is one thing that we are trying to run away from. I want this change or proposal to be seen positively. I am one person who is proudly here in support of our sons and daughters who are serving in the armed forces. As a country, we are proud of them. However, positive change must be accepted. I want to be told how this, in any way, jeopardizes the national interests. That is because I am a Kenyan and all the committee members who are proposing this are Kenyans. How does it jeopardize the national interests? What we are saying is give them more funding, instead of just having a one-line budget. That has been the trend. You have a one-line budget which says âDOD â Kshs40 billion.â In the mind of Kenyans, that is a lot of money. But if you segregate it into units like the army or navy, Kenyans will even say we want the DOD to be funded more. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want this to be seen positively and, therefore, the culture of saying: âNo, this institution should not be touched or it should be the preserve of so-and-so,â must end. This is our institution and it is one of the key pillars of the Republic of Kenya. This is a constitutional entity. We must be courageous enough to say that we want to reform those institutions. Let us not fear because there is nothing to fear. We are helping those people. We are helping them to get more finances. We are helping them to become more professional. We are helping them to follow the rule of law and we are also helping them to become a centre of excellence. That must be achieved constitutionally and through the rule of law. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, if you look at what we have in the national resource basket, every sector of this economy competes to get a share of the resource basket. For this, how do we justify that? The justification must come from the end users. The end users are those institutions. Those institutions must be reformed. If we have generously adopted this Constitution in our own minds and fearing to implement sections of the Constitution using frivolous assumptions that are not part of the law that we have, in my opinion and humble submission, it will be taking us back. I want to plead with my colleagues that this proposal does not take away our right as a country to have a well-funded, trained, protected and guarded DOD. This, if anything, consolidates the same. It will assist them get more finances and make them institutions that are professionally run and that attract the best brains in this country. They will always be ready to serve in those institutions. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in this budget proposal, this is the first Budget that we will have under the new constitutional dispensation. As we do this, we must look at all sectors of our economy and country. For me as an individual here and as a person who is proudly standing here today in support of our sons and daughters in the armed forces, I am persuaded beyond any reasonable doubt and without any naivety that this proposal is in line with the Constitution, and it is tailor-made for those sons and daughters in the armed forces. Eventually, it is going to make our DOD the best not only in the region, but in Africa. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I also want to say this: As we continue adjusting to the new reality, which is the new Constitution, some of us might have been in the forefront, some of us might have been âwatermelonsâ or completely the opposite, but the reality is that we have a document. This document is what is going to unite us. This document is what is going to give us a country. This document is what is going to solidify the unity of purpose of the people of Kenya. This document is what is going to assist us achieve the kind of development that we want. At times, when I reflect on where we were in 1968, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was at per with that of South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1968, the newly founded Botswana Meat Commission sent officers here to come and learn. Where is Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) today? It is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Is it because of lack of resources or poor management? It is because of poor management. We must be courageous enough to stand firm and say we have evaluated. We have done both summative and formative evaluation and this particular issue that we have followed blindly over the years has not taken us anywhere. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, when it comes to giving a portion of the national resource to regions, a region like where I come from - and I want to say this in connection with the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF)--- I can say here today without fear of any contradiction that the much that the CDF has done over the last seven years is more than what the colonialists, Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki and Raila-Kibaki governments have done for the people of northern Kenya."
}