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{
    "id": 603495,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/603495/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 126,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ganya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 18,
        "legal_name": "Francis Chachu Ganya",
        "slug": "francis-ganya"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity. From the outset, I strongly support the Access to Information Bill, 2015. I want to compliment Hon. Nyokabi for her great effort. This Bill will enable us to have a just society in the sense that the right information will enable us to cherish the fundamental human rights that are the cornerstone of our Constitution. It will also enable us to nurture good governance principles. Eventually, once the Bill is well implemented, it will enable us to consolidate the democratic gains that we have realised in this country, and enable us to enjoy or benefit from the many fundamental rights provided by our Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights. In totality, this Bill will enable our public institutions to be transparent, and accountable in service delivery. I want to go to the limitations of this Bill. Do the citizens of this country have a duty or obligation to be open, transparent and accountable to the state? For purposes of Government planning, there are occasions when we need information from the public. This is why we conduct the national census every 10 years as per our Constitution or conduct a poverty-household survey and many other surveys that are done by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics. We have a situation in this country where citizens deliberately give false information to the state. Such false information ends up distorting our national planning. It is a fact that in the census of 2009, the citizens of this Republic in some counties and regions gave false information. Because of that, we have distorted planning where some people gained constituencies when they did not deserve them. This is very clear as you can see from the number of eligible voters in those regions. Some people get more funds from the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) because of the distorted figures that they gave the state. Some counties get up to Kshs9 billion or Kshs10 billion while others get Kshs5 billion. I can speak for the northern counties. Since Independence, we are now almost at the same population. Today, we have a situation where there is total distortion in our national planning, leading to disparities in our development as a nation. When the Government tries to mitigate such problems, people rush to court and even bribe officials to get judgements in their favour. Today, we have a situation where some areas get billions of shillings they do not deserve while others do not get their rightful share from our national coffers. The citizens must also be accountable to the State and they have a duty to give accurate information to the state. There should be provision for imposition of severe penalties against people who give misleading information to the state. I want Hon. Nyokabi to come up with amendments to ensure that our citizens are also held accountable by the state and are obligated under the law to give accurate and correct 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."
}