Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 639392,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/639392/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 262,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ochieng",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2955,
        "legal_name": "David Ouma Ochieng'",
        "slug": "david-ouma-ochieng"
    },
    "content": "Because of tyranny of numbers, we are hardly able to change anything even in areas where we should. All of us from the constituencies know that the biggest problem in this country is access to school fees. We have set it in policy that we want Free Primary Education (FEP) and Free Secondary Education (FSE). However, our children still pay school fees. One day, it will be important for Parliament to put aside Kshs20 billion to ensure that all children in secondary schools do not pay a cent. This Government keeps on telling us that they have done well in education because they now pay monies for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). Our primary and secondary schools continue charging school fees. I have heard many Members talk about counties this afternoon. Education from primary school to university is not devolved. It saddens me to hear that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) is talking about having lotteries. The HELB wants to do lotteries to raise money for university students. Why do so when we have money? Today, I will not talk about corruption but wastage – the kind of money that we waste not through corruption but through overpricing and not doing the right things. A budget for Kshs100 million is put for this and yet we could do it at Kshs80 or Kshs70 million. In this Budget, if you go through what is going to come before us – you can look at the history of our budgets – you will find that our ministries are not frugal in the way they plan and budget. What you could buy at Kshs50 is bought at Kshs100. The level of wastage of public resources is too high. I wonder why you bash counties when this is the culture. Counties have been easy targets and yet the national Government retains 68 per cent of the monies in this Budget. You want to think that the counties are the only problems? The national Government must cut down on wastage. Like someone said, we should put our monies where our mouths are or vice versa. We talked about creating jobs and having youths getting employment. You cannot create jobs if you have a project like the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) which is worth Kshs0.5 trillion. You will find that Kshs100 billion is used for buying nuts and bolts only. What was difficult in requiring the Chinese to set up an industry to manufacture nuts and bolts in Kenya before we started construction of the SGR? We are exporting jobs that we needed yesterday. Look at the Galana-Kulalu Irrigation Project, which will consume Kshs140 billion. Half of the money is being used to buy pipes. What was difficult in ensuring that the Israelis set up a firm to manufacture the pipes around? We are exporting jobs that we needed yesterday. There is a level at which this country is being run by quacks. You cannot tell who the President’s economic advisors are. During Kibaki’s time, we at least knew that there was something called “the National Economic and Social Council (NESC)”. Now, we do not know who advises President Uhuru Kenyatta on economic issues. That is why scandals like the ones involving the Eurobond, the NYS and the Youth Enterprise Development Fund happen. It is because no one is advising the President the right way. The monies we approve will only help the country if we apply our best minds in implementing projects that we envisage. We cannot initiate huge projects just for collecting kickbacks from contractors. Let us work for Kenyans. I could not stop wondering when I heard CSs say that we are doing well as a country. I wonder the prism from which they are looking at this country. From whose veranda are you looking? If your veranda is somewhere in Karen and you are looking through the Nairobi National Park you will, of course, see lions, Galleria and probably the junction. So, you will 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."
}