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{
    "id": 603439,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/603439/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 70,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wakhungu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1889,
        "legal_name": "Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu",
        "slug": "chrisantus-wamalwa-wakhungu"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Bill and congratulate Hon. Nyokabi for the good work done. This Bill is going to operationalise Article 35 of the Constitution, which talks about the access to information. Kenya as come from very far. It has come from the dark days. We know very well that access to information is very critical for democracy, governance and issues of accountability. Clause 16 of this Bill talks about the protection of the people who disclose information. Recently, we had disclosures pertaining to the expenditure aspects in the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government. Some journalists from the Nation Media Group, the Star Newspaper and the Standard Group were threatened. Article 34 of the Constitution stipulates very clearly the freedom and independence of the media. It states further that the state shall not penalise or interfere with their publications. It is high time the media came out and gave the disclosures because Clause 16 of this Bill has protected them. I want to tell the media out there that when it comes to disclosure, we cannot get information without them and, therefore, any information must be disseminated. When it comes to dissemination of information, the media plays a very critical role. For example, as far as the fight against corruption, good governance and accountability in this country are concerned. We have been told that we have a lot of issues at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the moment. We know very well that the Assembly of State Parties (ASP) is on-going. Hon. Pkosing, a Member of this Parliament, has petitioned the ASP. They want to have an audit of the witnesses. The people have a right to access to information because information is power. It is through information that you can make decisions. In this country, we have many poor Kenyans in the villages who do not even understand that there is Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). Members of Parliament (MPs) are called upon to many fundraisings issues which happen every now and then. Most students who pass their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination to join university are not aware about HELB. There is a clause in this Bill that provides for proactive disclosure. We see more of reactive disclosure in this country as opposed to public disclosure. It is important that public institutions facilitate access to information which will help Kenyans. For instance, nobody knows what the Ombudsman does. It is high time the Ombudsman woke up to ensure that people in villages like Budalangi, Kiminini and North Eastern know the role of the Ombudsman and how they can access its services. This is an agricultural country. The fertiliser you use in Nyeri is not the same as the one that is used in Kiminini. This is in line with the Bill that I brought recently. I am happy His Excellency the President assented to it. The responsibility of the Fertilizer Board, which is provided in the Act, will be to sample and analyze the soils so that fertilizer is tailor-made to the nature of soils. The fertilizer used by the people of Trans Nzoia should be different from that, that is used by the people of Ukambani and the Coast. This will help as far as food security is concerned. The issue of proactive disclosure of information is actually very critical. 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."
}