HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 532346,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/532346/?format=api",
"text_counter": 71,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "issue with. The President said that Kenya is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. This is evidently false and contestable. I do not need to be a statistician to say anymore. The economy of this country is not one of the fastest growing in the world. In fact, World Bank statistics show that among the ten fastest growing economies in the world, about six are African and Kenya is not one of them. It is Ethiopia, Angola and others. So, it is good to imagine that we are one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but it is wrong to make it as if it is a statement of fact. We are not. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President also said that our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has hit Kshs53.3 billion. Again, this is not true. Our GDP is about Kshs42 billion or Kshs43 billion. With the slump in tourism, it is probably even much less. We would want to see better facts founded on scientific analysis. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President also mentioned the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line, which despite the controversies and corrupt transactions surrounding it, is ongoing. Now that it is ongoing we want to hear from him when this SGR will be extended, all the way through Nakuru, Eldoret, Malaba, Uganda and beyond. Remember that the railway line is the artery of our economy. Uganda is our number one trading partner and the countries west of Uganda, including Rwanda, Burundi and the entire Eastern Congo with a population of close to 60 million people depend on the Port of Mombasa for their external trade. Kenya would do very well if we even invested in extending the railway line to Goma, Bunia and Kisangani, to spur great economic growth and realize a greater GDP. With the railway line done, we will also be able then to ease pressure on our roads, which the President alluded to. In doing so, I want to encourage this Government and I can assure you that our next Government will do this. We should not follow the beaten path of history by simply following the rail line as it is; I know there is the Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) that will go through Isiolo to Turkana and South Sudan. We want to see the rail lines that were there before rehabilitated, that is Nairobi- Nanyuki, we want to see light rail running through to Marsabit, to Loiyangalani and to all those places for transport of humans, goods and other services. It is, in fact, cheaper, if you take the experience of Australia, to have light rails running through all those vast arid and semi arid territories than to build tarmac roads. Those rail lines will do a lot more to spur economic growth in the northern parts of Kenya and parts of Narok, Kajiado and so on. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in his Address, the President touched on the issue of inclusivity. Paragraph 46 of his Statement says he is concerned about disruptions that are going on in counties and he named a few of them including Mandera, Marsabit, Tana River, Narok and Embu. Then he goes on to say in paragraph 47 that;- “I therefore call on all leaders at the county level to be guided by those aspirations and not serve their own narrow self -interest. We must all remember that Kenya is one indivisible nation” Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish that when the President told us in his apology about the atrocities visited on Kenyans in the past, that he was also courageous enough to stand and apologize to Kenyans for entrenching tribalism, exclusivity and narrow partisan interests in appointments to public offices. We have seen, since Jubilee came to power, that the narrow attitude of the President and his Deputy resulting in literally sharing the 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."
}