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{
    "id": 513785,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/513785/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 131,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Shill",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1465,
        "legal_name": "Elias Bare Shill",
        "slug": "elias-bare-shill"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Speaker. I would like to second the Motion. Somalia is a neighbour to this country. It has been in problems for years. People say that you can choose your friends but you cannot choose your neighbours. For the last 20 years or so, our neighbours were unfortunately in turmoil. It is through the help of the African Union (AU) and other well wishers that we have put the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is now giving some strength to that Government. Having been to Mogadishu for so many times, he is the right person we have been chosen because of his military background. On the first day that you visit that area, if you are not a military guy, you can go under the table immediately because of the several bombs and bullets. Therefore, we really need somebody with a military background. We have sent our troops to Somalia under the banner of AMISOM. It is not only through military intervention that we can have a relationship with Somalia. What we have been lacking is the political and diplomatic side of the engagement. If you go to Mogadishu, you will see so many countries have their ambassadors there, except Kenya yet it is in Kenya where we house over one million Somalis who have run away from the war-torn country. Kenya is the place which is very attractive to Somalis. Many of them have come here not only as refugees but to do business. They are very good entrepreneurs. Kenyans are also entrepreneurs. Therefore, Kenya can benefit if we co- operate. If Somalia becomes peaceful and their reconstruction starts, it is this country which will give all the raw materials and the technicians who will be needed, including builders, architects among others. Maybe our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can go up by over 40 per cent just because of Somalia. Therefore, let us not just look at Somalia through the lens of Al-Shabaab or of a war-torn country. We must look at them as people we can do business with. Therefore, we need that diplomatic kind of relationship. We know many of the Somali youth have been put on the wrong footing. They have joined the Al-Shabaab just because they do not have jobs. The only job that is 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."
}