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{
    "id": 645969,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/645969/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 129,
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    "content": "which will make our country equalized for the better. We have concentrated a lot on building roads, railways and airports, but if we do not equalize our country, we will not solve our problems. The reason many Kenyans in some parts of the country feel aggrieved and agitated is simply because of exclusion. Development experts over the years have demonstrated that if you want to equalize a country, then you need to equalize access to development, even when some areas do not look quite ‘productive.’ Since there is need for long-term planning of national development, it is important that those areas are developed. Those areas that do not seem to be ‘productive’ are likely actually to be the breadbasket of our country in the future. A good example is northern Kenya. For a long time - for over 50 years, northern Kenya was neglected and marginalised. Recently, a number of useful resources such as natural gas and oil have been discovered in those areas. All of a sudden, Kenyans from other parts of the country have rushed to invest in those areas in anticipation of harvesting the windfall that comes with establishment of the oil and gas infrastructure. It is likely to get a reaction from indigenous communities as it has happened in many countries such as Nigeria, Venezuela and other parts of the world because we have not expressed our solidarity with these parts of Kenya for a very long time. To avoid that kind of reaction, it is important that we treat the country equally and equalise development. That will make our country safer and united for a very long time to come. In some countries, you will find highways traversing deserts. There may not be a lot of economic activities going on there but that is an investment that we must make as a country to ensure that no part of the country feels left out. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the second last thing I want to say is that as much as we labour very hard in this House to make sure that money is available to our counties and in an equitable manner, it is disheartening to see the culture of wastage, plunder, robbery and theft that is happening in our counties across the country regardless of political party loyalties and which part of the country you come from. There is a lot of stealing going on and I have already pronounced myself on this matter. One of the greatest threats or obstacles to devolution that we are facing today will not be the centralist thinking because the centralist thinking has been dismantled by the Constitution itself. It is almost impossible to roll back devolution by people who have a theory that they can actually dismantle the devolved powers and return powers to the centre. The internal threat that devolution and devolved units are facing is because unlike in the past when we had one big man in Nairobi controlling the resources of the country and using them at their whims, we now have 47 “small-big” men. The pun is intended. We have 47 “small-big” men in every part of our country trying to replicate the big-man syndrome. We have small despots in every corner of the country perpetuating corruption, nepotism and exclusion and this is the biggest threat that we are facing today. Indeed, I dare to argue that if we do not watch what is happening in our counties today, we are staring at a monumental national security problem, where a few people use the infrastructure of the counties to amass wealth and power and create militias to protect that wealth and power at all costs. These are people who were nondescript politicians and 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"
}