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{
    "id": 601522,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/601522/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 345,
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    "content": "the greatest prosperity, an emerging aristocracy was having everything that they wanted but the poor were becoming poorer to the extent that another writer known as Charles Dickens wrote a famous novel known as “A Tale of Two Cities ”. This narrative and conversation was going on not only in England but even in France where another writer known as Honore de Balzac wrote a lot about the social condition in France at the time after the revolution in which there was a lot of expectation. A lot of his writings came after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am saying all these because I want to contextualize that prosperity sometimes - if it is not properly examined - can result on the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer and the rule of law would always have the mighty being guided by the law but the down-trodden would not only be required to abide by the law but would be exploited and suppressed in circumstances in which the state of humanity can be questionable if looked at as a whole. I think this Bill is addressing a very important point that we have not grappled with over many years. When I think of these writers that I have been talking about, you look at Nairobi and it is an exemplification of what either Charles Dickens or Honore de Balzac or Benjamin Disraeli were writing about their societies. When you fly over Nairobi, it is as if you are seeing two cities; one, showing the best exemplifications of wealth and another showing the condition of the downtrodden who are living in sub- human standards. What is it that Sen. Hassan is trying to do? He says the time is now to start implementing the ‘third-generation rights’ under the Bill of Rights. That they are as mush part of the Bill of Rights as the other rights we keep talking about every day. When those rights are violated, we constantly go to court, litigate and get results through a judicial process. How do you deal with a human condition of those staying in Kibera and other slums in our cities or workers who are working in salt mines in Malindi, Lamu and other coastal areas? We must have an instrument or a process whereby these basic rights can be realised. If they are not realised, we should have a process where there is accountability. If we cannot have accountability, we must make sure that at the very minimum, certain State organs at all levels of Government will be required to ensure that these standards are met. They should not just exist in the Constitution. There should be a robust regime of the law that would make it possible for all citizens to have that respect and joy of being part of this country. The joy of being part of this country is to give people opportunity and make sure that their conditions would be in line with a modern democratic society. A modern democratic society is not just about freedom such as we are enjoying in this Chamber of just saying what we want to say or think as we want, but also make sure that people get services. The principle of devolution was a way of trying to deal with this problem. We always talk about how county governments are performing. It is because out of frustration that our constitutional mechanism of fund was set up to ensure that resources reach all parts of the country. Objectives of devolution say in part that even within counties, every member of our society in all parts should be able to enjoy a certain degree of prosperity. 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."
}