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{
    "id": 612144,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/612144/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 100,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Chepkong’a",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1154,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Kiprono Chepkonga",
        "slug": "samuel-kiprono-chepkonga"
    },
    "content": "8 Wednesday 2nd December, 2015(A) This crisis brought into sharp focus the limitations of the country’s democratic governance systems, which generally failed to diffuse the conflict and prevent human rights violations. The 2007 post-election crisis also brought with it a renewed sense of urgency for far- reaching constitutional and legal policy and institutional reforms that have a bearing on the inter- dependent issues of human rights, democratic governance, rule of law and security. This turbulent historical background has contributed largely to the economic, political and social challenges that have hindered the realization of rights by majority of Kenyans. The challenges can be grouped into about four different forms. This policy identified inequality as a major issue that limits enjoyment of human rights in this country. Kenya’s Vision 2030 has recognised the fact that problems of inequality pose economic, social and political challenges as well as threats that lead to major human rights violation. Consequently, Vision 2030 aims at economic growth while ensuring that the political system is issue-based, people-centred, resource-oriented and accountable. The second threat that has been identified as a challenge to human rights is poverty, which remains a major impediment to both the fulfilment of basic rights and realisation of the full potential of many Kenyans, particularly women and children. That is why, as Members of Parliament, we have been concentrating very much on uplifting the standards of women and school-going children. The Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) has been allocating up to a maximum of 25 per cent of bursaries to students from the less fortunate families in the society to ensure that we eradicate the issue of poverty and create a level playing ground in terms of providing opportunities for the youth as they seek education. About 56 per cent of Kenyans live below the international poverty line of less than one US Dollar per day. According to the Kenya Economic Survey Report of 2009, the number of Kenyans depending on others is about 84 per cent. It is very unfortunate that we have created a country where many people do not want to do much; they live off others. That is one of the problems we are seeking to regulate. Today we received the Public Fundraising Appeals Bill from the Senate seeking to regulate fundraising in this country, which has been a result of poverty across the country. The third major impediment to the enjoyment of human rights in Kenya is lack of public awareness on human rights issues. A number of Kenyans are not aware of their rights. As a result, it has been difficult for them to enjoy their human rights. This has led to abuses, often without people seeking redress from the right institutions. The fourth and final thing that has been identified as a major challenge, and which has been declared publicly by the President himself as a threat to national security, is corruption. This is one of the issues that have greatly impeded development and enjoyment of human rights in Kenya. This does not only affect economic growth and discourage foreign investment, but it also diverts public resources from investment in critical infrastructure that is crucial for strategic elements for poverty alleviation. It negatively affects access to resources. As we sought to deal with these challenges, we passed the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which has engendered a number of human rights safeguards to ensure that Kenyans enjoy their rights and find redress where there have been abuses and infringements. With those few remarks, I beg to move and request Hon. Njoroge Baiya to second."
}