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{
    "id": 574650,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/574650/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 33,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Maanzo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2197,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kitonga Maanzo",
        "slug": "daniel-kitonga-maanzo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me an opportunity to contribute on the Motion. I rise to support this Motion on grounds that the main idea here is the protection of our territorial borders and co-operation of Eastern African countries and other countries on the issue of defence. There is also the defence pact between the Republics of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda and the Agreement on the Establishment of the East African Standby Force. Hon. Deputy Speaker, this force is not just to protect our borders; in the event that there is a conflict in any of the countries, it can go to that country to stop the conflict. Our country has in the past suffered when there was a conflict in the neighbourhood as we have had to host people from those countries. That is a requirement of international law. Hosting them has its own challenges even when it is within our country. This Protocol also calls on the international community to take care of these conflicts. Hon. Deputy Speaker, it is a little difficult to educate and bring up people when they are in a situation where they have been resettled in another country and are in the state of refugees. Therefore, these are some of the things that this Protocol is going to take care of, and ensure that there is no conflict which will result in refugees and radicalization, among other things. When you look at this particular pact, it does not offend our Constitution; it is firmly within the laws of the country, and even those of other countries in the region. Therefore, when an issue, policy, law or an operation is happening internationally and is not offending our Constitution, it is the only good thing to do to protect our own country and our neighbours. I would also want to say that the Committee did a very good job. There was wide consultation with stakeholders. In addition to war and conflict, sometimes you can have emergencies such as an earthquake, a building which has collapsed or a terrorist attack. The standby force will have a method of coordination; they already know what to do; they can be the first ones to arrive to help save lives. There was a time a building collapsed here in Kenya and it took a team to fly from Israel, which is a few hours to get here to use their expertise on bombings and collapsed buildings and rescue lives. Due to time lag, some lives were lost. Therefore, if we have a standby force, which is within us 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."
}